Flaming Moon
by katerina1013
Summary: This is my interpretation of life after Breaking Dawn. Mainly Bella's and Renesmee's POV. The plotline is also very similar to that of BellaNessieCullen's Renesmee's Childhood and Teenage stories.
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE  
RENESMEE'S POV**  
I thought everything would be fine by now. Forgotten, left alone, just like any other dreaded event in the past. I was completely wrong. I thought that I can spend the rest of my forever with my big, wonderful family. I thought my life was bliss, now that I knew my destiny with Jacob. Apparently, my thoughts didn't matter at this point. They would never leave me alone. To them I was a liability, no matter how many times we proved them wrong. The fighting would never end! I stood there defenseless as I saw my family risk their lives for me again. Something had to be done to end this once and for all. And in that instant, I knew. I had to die...

CHAPTER 1: SILVER AIR  
Blood. Red. Eyes. My ability to look away temporarily disappeared. My vampire instincts weren't quick enough. Pure, ultimate fear paralyzed me. And it didn't stop there; it just kept growing and growing as I realized what they were after. They justified me as the most valuable, considering I was so rare. Aro couldn't be happy with just me unfortunately because he also wanted my parents, Edward and Bella, as well as Aunt Alice. Our gifts were just too precious that he couldn't help but want to covet them. We would be an incomparable, superb addition to the guard; well at least that's what Aro exclaimed. I can't believe this was the same guard that swore to protect our kind. Ridiculous.

"Renesmee..." Aro, Caius, and Marcus whispered perfectly synchronized. This was it. They were advancing on me.

I wasn't aware that I was dreaming. It just felt so real, so concrete. I was so thankful to be awaken by mom's cold but comforting arms.

"Ness? Nessie, honey, it's alright. You're having a bad dream. Everything's okay," her words urging me to open my eyes. Instead I shot right up and locked my arms around her neck, silent tears streaming down my face as I held onto her.  
"Shhh," she soothed. Uncle Jasper must've entered my room because in an instant I was completely calm. Another minute or two went by and I sighed but reluctantly let go of my mom. I let out a small smile and said thank you to Uncle Jazz. In a second, he was by my side and quickly kissed my head before leaving the room. I got up from my queen sized bed to my enormous closet. I switched out of my green flannel pajamas and slipped into a pair of skinny jeans, a light pink tank top, and a black cardigan.

"Don't you wanna go back to sleep?" she asked. I checked my wall clock quickly. 5 hours of sleep. Hmm, that was enough, I thought. I didn't feel like reliving my nightmare.

"No," I replied. "I wanna go outside, take a breather, and just look up at the stars."

I began to notice that by doing this, it calmed me. It made my mind clear, free of worry. My mom got up to leave. I swiftly went to her and placed my right hand on her left cheek.

(Thank you, Momma.) She smiled her dazzling smile and said," You're welcome, baby girl."

Her lips briefly brushed my forehead and then she was gone. I walked over to my white-framed window to check the sky. Thankfully there weren't many clouds out and even a full moon was visible.  
I quickly went down the hall, ascended the stairs, went through the kitchen and stepped out the back door into the brisk, cold night. It was mid-fall but I could still smell a hint of the colorful forest despite the fact that most of the leaves were on the ground, dead. I made my way down further away from the house, not too far, though, because I could still hear movement inside. I was finally in the garden. Gramma never really had a reason to have one, since no one ate human food besides me. I was surrounded by a vast majority of flowers, fruits and vegetables. My dad built a medium-sized hammock for me to lay in the afternoon, or whenever I wanted. It was perfectly nestled along these two huge, middle-aged maple trees.

I heard a rustle a few yards away as I was approaching the hammock. I automatically went into a crouch, my instincts kicking in as I scanned the forest for any signs of danger. I waited, but nothing came. I figured it was one of the wolves on patrol or maybe even a squirrel. Once I felt safe again, I went and fell into the hammock. I sighed in awe once I laid my eyes on the night sky. Fortunately I had vampire eyes, with my mom's human eye color, a deep, warm, chocolate brown. I can see everything perfectly. I quickly found the northern star, along with the Big Dipper and the Small Dipper. Not too far away was Orion's Belt, also. I rarely look at the calendar. A couple days ago, however, I just so happened to stumble upon one and it said October 13, full moon.

I smiled at the clarity of my vision. I loved that deep, dark, blue color the sky had at night. To human eyes it appeared almost black. Human eyes couldn't have seen the subtle indigo swirls in between the twinkling stars. I was completely transfixed with my view. Suddenly I was overwhelmed by that familiar, woodsy scent. And just right on cue, Jacob came booming to my side.

He had a huge grin on his face and I couldn't help but smile back. I also couldn't miss the fact that the only thing he had on were a pair of gray sweats. I quickly looked him up and down twice, basking in his stunning body. He was so ripped and muscular! I think he noticed because he started snapping at me.

"Hello? Earth to Nessie?"

We both chuckled and I surprised him with a hug. "I missed you," I said to his chest.

He was so tall! I was really barely 5 foot tall and he was like, what, 6'5"?

"I missed you, too" he murmured onto the top of my head. "I've been busy the last couple of days. You know, alpha duty. But I felt your fear earlier so I came to check up on you."

Darn. I'd completely forgotten my dream, until now. We were still in an embrace but I turned my head to the right and the rapid humming of his heart calmed me instantly.

"I'm fine, now," I said. We stood there for what seemed like an eternity, when in reality it was just 10 minutes.

Times like these, I was really happy I had a best friend like Jake. It didn't matter what we did, as long as were together. We would never get bored and we were nearly inseparable. Lately, though, I just didn't know. It had been almost a year since the incident in the clearing with the Volturi. Back then I looked like a 7 year old. But now I looked like a 13 year old. I felt like one, too, one that had a huge crush on my best friend, Jacob Black. I mean this was normal, right? After all, I do have some human genes. Which can mean I'm just going through some major hormones. I let my worried thoughts run through my head full speed. I wasn't aware that my face reacted, too, because before I knew it, Jacob smoothed my forehead back to how it was.

His hands wandered off to my waist and they lingered in its place when he whispered, "tell me what you're thinking."

I felt this strange sort of electric current surge through my body as his dark, serious eyes bore into mine. We stayed like that for quite a while. I knew him all too well to know that he wouldn't drop the question so I decided to just show him what I was thinking. I didn't need my voice to break, embarrassing me. I didn't show him everything, either, because I was simply not ready to spill out my guts.

I replayed my nightmare and how I was observing the stars, the sky, and the moon before he joined me. I even brought up the rustling I heard from the forest that gave me a small scare.

"That was me," he said.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, Ness, I was just watching you from a distance cos I didn't know if you wanted company. But when you got up and I saw you twirling, I was just blown away. You're just so dang irresistible."

I smiled. He always knew how to cheer me up. He smiled right back and then we were back to staring into each other's eyes. I knew I wasn't in quite in control of my body because somehow, someway, I was inching closer to his face.

I was even more surprised to see he was mimicking me. I could feel the heat emanating from his body even more. 5 seconds past and our lips were just millimeters away. I closed my eyes, waiting for him to make the final move so that I can shape my lips perfectly to match his. But before I can even take another breath we were interrupted by a fairly loud "Ah-hem."

We immediately stepped away from our position and I turned to see who it was.

Why wasn't I surprised? Of course it would be daddy.

He was always so protective over my fondness with Jake.

"Hey, Edward," Jake said with a little head nod, obviously a little caught off guard.

"Jacob," my dad sternly replied. I guess Jake got the vibe too because before I knew it, his lips were right next to my ears to say, "I gotta go. I'll catcha later, Ness."

And with a kiss on my cheek, he was gone.

Just like that.

Into the woods.

My breath caught when I assessed what just happened in my mind. I was going to kiss Jacob. I've been wanting to for a long time now but I wasn't sure if he felt the same way. Apparently, he did because he wouldn't be leaning into me, too, right? Again I was lost in my thought that I completely forgot that I wasn't alone.

"Renesmee Carlie Cullen."

Sheeeesh, he must've been really mad.

"I'm not mad at you, sweetheart," my dad said. "Now get over here."

I was beside him in a flash and he took me into his arms. I breathed in his musky, honeysuckle scent.

He was whispering into my hair. "I'm sorry if I upset you. Jacob should just have a better control of himself."

He sort of mumbled the last part that I wasn't really sure what he said. He started to pull me towards the house to join my family when I stopped him. He frowned a little but quickly composed himself. I just wanted to take a last look at my surroundings. I couldn't wait until next month when I can enjoy this silver air again.


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's chapter 2 :) I have premade chapters since I started posting on my blog way before posting this story on here. If you wish to read ahead and not wait until I post it on here then take a look at my profile to find my blog site. There should be a new chapter every 2-3 days.**

**Please review! I would really love to hear what you guys have to say about my writing. **

Chapter 2: Unwanted Surprise

Daddy and I were in the house in no time. We walked in with me hanging onto his left arm and he had his right hand patting mine the whole time, just like the gentleman he was. I was replaying the previous events that happened prior to his attendance. He had gone hunting with Poppa, discussing my slowing growth rate. He told me that Poppa knew someone who could have some knowledge about my kind. It wasn't enough to see me happy and healthy I guess. Everyone always had a fear of me dying just because they didn't have the proper answers. I couldn't blame them, though, because they were my family and they loved me too much to gamble with the half unknown.

We were just entering the living room when Uncle Emmett picked me up and threw me across his broad shoulder. He was nearly as tall as Jacob.

"Uncle Emmett!" I squealed. "Put me down!"

Daddy just chuckled and started making his way to my mom who was planted on the white leather couch.

"First you gotta tell me who your favorite uncle is."

I quickly obeyed him and exclaimed, "You're my favorite uncle!"

He started to tickle me but placed me gently on our dark, mahogany floor with a huge grin on his face. "That's what I like to hear." He tousled my hair before kissing my forehead.

"You know you just forced it outta her," Uncle Jasper said from the top of the staircase with his arms crossed.

"I think it's pretty clear that I'm her favorite uncle."

I giggled and quickly got out of the way because I already knew what was coming. I always got a kick out of them fighting over me.

I faintly heard them go out to the backyard to continue their little argument. All I heard after that was a mute thud and a chortle. I smiled even wider just thinking that their playful banter was next to nothing compared to how Aunt Rosalie and Aunt Alice fought over me. Of course, they would never physically fight each other but still, it was equally if not more comical when they did bicker over dressing me and whatnot.

"Oh, Nessie…" dragged on my petite aunt as if she knew I was just thinking about her. Her pixie-like self strode gracefully towards me by the dining room table. We were just about the same height. It won't be long until I'd be a little more taller than her.

"What's up, Auntie Alice?"

"Oh nothing," she replied as she began walking in circles around me, "just thinking about going shopping. We haven't gone in like forever!"

"You two just went to Port Angeles two weeks ago," mom retorted from the couch.

She and daddy were watching TV but you can hear the amusement in her voice.

I just smiled and nodded. I loved going shopping. Aunt Alice was ecstatic when I told her this because my mom never was as keen to it as much as we were.

"Aren't I invited?" Aunt Rose came into the living room as Aunt Alice was playing with my dark bronze curls. She was faking being hurt and I laughed.

"Of course, you're invited Aunt Rose!"

"Yay!" Just then she was at my side and kissed my cheek.

"Hey sleeping beauty," she cooed. I touched her neck. (Hey sleepless beauty.)  
"Okay, it's decided. We'll go tomorrow, right after you're done with school, Nessie," Aunt Alice said with her arms snaking around my waist.

"We'll pick you up," chimed Aunt Rose.

I stifled a groan. Darn.

I'd completely forgotten it was going to be my first day of school. I was going into the 8th grade. Forks Junior High was an even smaller version of Forks High School. I could easily get into any college of my choice with the knowledge that I had. But, of course, since I looked 13, I had to be enrolled in the 8th grade just so attention wouldn't be drawn to me. I would pass all my subjects with flying colors all thanks to being home schooled by Daddy.

The only bright side of going to school is being around other kids my age. I would never admit it, but sometimes I would get really lonely and bored in this enormous house. I was never alone here, not once, but if you think about it, there isn't that much to do. It's a good thing that humans are drawn to me. I don't have to make such a huge effort to get friends. As I thought of this, I started getting excited about school.

I was oblivious to the sudden warmth on my face but I was quickly awakened from my reverie. The sun had come up and school would be in 2 short hours. Mom and dad were in the music room, playing a duet version of her lullaby. My aunts had evidently wandered off to find their husbands.

"Nessie, honey?" Esme called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Gramma?"

"What would like to eat for breakfast?" she asked gathering utensils and some basic ingredients from the cupboards.

"A cheddar cheese omelet with sautéed mushrooms, please!" I responded as I skipped into our always clean kitchen.

"Coming right up."

Eggs were one of the few human foods I ate. I preferred hunting but I couldn't object to Gramma's enjoyment in cooking for her one and only granddaughter. I sat on one of the stools from the island table with my hands resting on my chin, patiently waiting for my meal. For someone who dark animal blood to survive, Gramma cooked like an iron chef.

A light green china plate with my omelet neatly placed in the center was in front of me in record time. I took in the exquisite aroma before digging in. I brushed my fingers on hers before she turned away to thank her.

I was halfway done with my breakfast when my parents came into view. Momma briefly greeted Esme with a good morning and a smile before leaving my father behind to be by my side. The next thing I knew, daddy was on my other side. I took my last bite before he had the chance to sit down.

"You should really slow down when you're eating, Renesmee. Humans might notice that you have such a big appetite that you can eat a bear," he said scolding me with a smirk.

(Har, Har) I thought. He chuckled this time.

"We need to have a little talk," my mom said on my right.

Crap. My almost first kiss with Jacob in the garden.

"Don't worry, that's not what we're going to discuss with you. We'll save that for another time," he claimed with a hint of fierceness in his voice.

My mom looked at him questioningly for a moment but just dropped it and continued.

"You remember the cover you have to say, right?"  
I replied with a nod. Poppa and Gramma were my adoptive parents with Aunt Rosalie, Aunt Alice, and Uncle Jasper as my adoptive siblings. Uncle Emmett and Daddy were my 'real' big brothers with momma as daddy's wife.

"Since this is your first day, I'll be in the forest, not too far away, keeping an eye on you. So if you need anything, you know what to do," daddy said as his fingers were twirling my curls.

With another nod, I got up to dump my plate in the sink. My mom got up with me and was about to tell me something when Aunt Alice came rushing in, interrupting her.

"Now way, Bella. You're not going to dress her up. It's the first day of school, for heaven's sake! She has to make a good impression and with your sense of style, you'll bruise her reputation," she remarked playfully.

I heard a small growl from my dad and Aunt Alice just stuck out her tongue, looking younger than me for just a second.

"Calm down," momma added. "I just thought you were busy doing something else so I decided I'll dress her," with a hint of laughter in her voice.

With that, Aunt Alice grabbed my hand and before I knew it I was in her huge, white and blue tiled bathroom. All the makeup you needed to look like a runway model was on the counter but of course it wasn't like the vampire beauties in this house needed any of it.

I heard my mom say that she'll gather my school stuff from the cottage and will be back in time to drive me to school with my dad. They were probably gonna be a while for some "alone time." I immediately pushed that disturbing thought out of my head to relax into the swivel chair as cold hands brushed all over my face. I hope she wasn't going to go overboard with the makeup I mean, it was just the 8th grade.

We got to FJH 10 minutes before school started. I quickly did a once over on my outfit. I had on a navy blue semi fringed tube top with dark gray skinny jeans and a pair of light gray boots. It wasn't cold to me but I had on a cozy white pea coat anyway. My hair was in a ponytail, with a few stray hairs sprawled gracefully around my face.

Momma and daddy would be coming in with me to check in with the office. After that, daddy would patrol around the perimeter, just in case I needed him since the girls decided to go hunting.

The school was buzzing even before we entered the hallways. Some of the kids that were leaning on their lockers, chatting with their friends, gasped as my parents and I ascended down the hall to the main office. Daddy said humans would act this way because we looked so beautiful and intimidating.

My father opened the office door and gestured for my mom and I to enter first. Such a gentleman, I thought with a smile.

We could still hear the whispering in the hallways when my mom said "Excuse me."

She got the secretary's attention immediately. Her eyes widened just a little and it took her nearly a whole minute to compose herself. I saw my dad from the corner of my eye, trying to hide his growing smirk. I guess whatever the gauche 30-something-year-old brunette was thinking amused him.

"It's Renesmee's first day of school and we were wondering if you can give her a map of the campus and her schedule," momma added.

"Of course, of course," the secretary replied.

Her ID said "Mrs. Julia Wayne." I wonder what her husband would do if he caught her gawking at my dad like that.

"Ah, Renesmee Carlie Cullen. Pretty name. She must be you're little sister," she announced looking at daddy and continued, "her homeroom is with Ms. Leila Hill. Her classroom is just 3 doors down to the left from here. So here's her schedule and the map. It won't be long for the first bell to ring so run along now, hon," she said sweetly to me but I felt like all she cared about was my god-like father.

"Vapid human," momma muttered under her breath as we headed out, obviously a little jealous. All that daddy did was snicker at my mom's sudden negative attitude but gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. That broke my mom's iciness almost instantly.

They stopped me from entering my very first classroom to hug me good-bye and to bid me good luck. My dad reminded me to stick to our cover and that he won't be far away if I needed him. He also mentioned that all the girls would be gone for the day to go hunt just so that my aunts' eyes' would have that golden tint to them when we'd go to the mall up in Seattle.

I inhaled a deep breath before opening the door. Inside, the room was half filled with boys and girls my age. I went straight to the teacher's desk to hand her my schedule for her to sign. Miss Leila Hill was very beautiful, gorgeous even. She was medium-built, not too fat but not too skinny, a perfect balance. Her hair was silky blonde and it fell a couple inches past her shoulder.

"Okay, here's your schedule back and you can take any seat you want for right now. We'll get into permanent seats as the week progresses," she said with a wink. I timidly smiled at her and hurriedly took the first seat I laid my eyes on. Luckily, it was also the nearest seat in the front to the door. I tried to ignore the piercing stares I felt on my back due to the gawking of my fellow classmates and started daydreaming about the events that would happen after school. Jacob would most likely be at the house when we'd get back from shopping in Seattle...

The bell ran, perturbing my reverie. I shook it off and composed myself. I knew some of the kids were still staring but I refused to say anything to save me from an awkward situation. I don't know how my family did this without going insane. Humans were so strange.

My classes passed by with a blur. After homeroom was American History and Honors English followed after that. That was the highlight of my day because not only was English one of my best subjects, I guess I get that from my mom, but I made a friend there.

Mia was her name and it just so happened that we were chosen to be partners. We had to do an activity were we'd talk about ourselves but the other person would recite the information in front of the class. We hit off pretty fast. I found out that she lives with her mom not too far away from the main house. Her parents were divorced but there was no visitation right for her father. She was perfectly content with her mom and was extremely close with her grandparents who lived in Boston.

I frowned a little when she told me this because I couldn't imagine my life without my large family. We also found out that we had the next 3 classes together! Mia was, without a doubt, a very bashful girl. She had light coppery auburn hair that was significantly medium length. Her face was lightly tanned, she, too, was from Arizona like my mom, and was evenly coated with freckles. In my opinion, she was very well one of the prettiest girls here. She was smart, too, because our next class was Advanced Algebra and only a handful of students were in 's class. I had confidence that this class would be a breeze because I'd already learned Calculus a month ago.

Lunch finally came around but I was brought up short when I became immensely light-headed. I had to grip onto Mia's right arm.

"Whoa, you don't look too good, Nessie," Mia observed.

The ladies room was right across the cafeteria and she ushered me into it. I went into one of the stalls and sat down. I felt some moisture in my private area and that was odd considering I didn't need to use the bathroom like humans do because I was half vampire. I swiftly pulled down my jeans to check anyway.

I was appalled to see what was in front of me. Blood had stained merely the surface of my underwear. Thankfully it didn't seep through my jeans. I cursed under my breath.

Of all days to start my period! I stepped out of the stall to wash my hands.

"You okay, Ness?" asked Mia as she eyed me carefully.

"Yeah, I'm good. I just started my period though."

"Oh, that sucks," she replied sympathetically. "Well you should get something to eat. That's probably why you almost fainted back there. Are you anemic or something?"

We were barely out the door when my dad suddenly appeared.

"Renesmee, what's wrong? Are you hurt? I smell blood," my dad asked all too low and quick for Mia to hear.

"Umm, are you Renesmee's brother?" Mia asked from my side. Daddy rapidly composed his concerned face to answer my new friend.

"Yes, I'm Edward. Nice to meet you. I was just checking on Nessie here."

I couldn't find the words to say it and Mia probably sensed it because she answered for me. "Oh. Well she almost fainted a while ago. She, uh...has...her period."

"I see," daddy hesitantly replied. "I think I should take you home then, Ness. Don't you have cramps?" He gave me a look that told me to answer yes.

Mia sounded a little hurt when she said,"Oh, okay. I'll tell our teachers where you went when they do attendance. I'm going to head off to eat now. I hope you feel better."

My dad smiled at her thoughtfulness and thanked her.

We left school immediately but the drive home didn't come fast enough because the awkwardness was deafening.


	3. Chapter 3

**I've decided to change the time in my story. Instead of it being 1 year after Breaking Dawn, I want it to be 5 years. So keep this in mind. As always if you guys have questions, please ask me! :)**  
**_Feedback_ would be nice too :)**  
**Oh and chapter 4 will be up soon and will be in Bella's POV...**

CHAPTER 3: ANOTHER MILESTONE

The minute we stopped, I dashed put of the car, went up the steps leading to the front door and ran up the stairs to my room as if my life depended on it. I slammed my bedroom door as careful as I could without tearing its hinges apart and locked myself in my bathroom.

I sighed in frustration when I realized I had to change. As I literally tore off my clothes, I heard the conversation going on downstairs.  
My uncles were clearly oblivious to my dramatic entrance since they were too captivated with the Xbox 360 playing Black Ops. I guess the smell of the blood finally got to them.

"Whoa, what's up with that smell?" Uncle Emmett said. I think he was pinching his nose because his usual deep bass voice sounded more nasally.

"Shut up!" my dad snarled. "She'll hear you upstairs!" And to make matters worse, Jacob had just came in and said "Hellooo Cullen House!"

Argh, this horrid day would never end! Again I locked myself in my bathroom. I had slipped on some black shorts and a white tank top. I started pacing my white marble-tiled bathroom floor, trying to calm myself.

Where was my mom when I needed her?

"She'll be here, soon, sweetheart," my dad said right on the other side of the door. "But for now, can you come out here, please?"

(NO!) I screamed in my head.

He sighed. "Well are you in any pain at all? Are you hungry?" My dad was about to ask another question when my Uncle Emmett came in saying that he could drive down to the store really quick and buy some toilet paper.

I glared angrily at the door imagining him just on the other side.

What was he thinking? Toilet paper? They wouldn't suffice!

I was thankful when I heard daddy slap him on the back of his head. He was going back downstairs with Jacob and Uncle Jasper but he made sure for me to hear: "Well at least this milestone wasn't as awkward when Bella and Alice had to take you bra shopping after going to Lake Crescent when the cousins came down for a visit."

* * *

The summer heat lingered as the sun was nearly completely gone but shades of orange and lavender still had a cast on the water and the trees. I was sad that Jacob couldn't come along with us for vacation. We rented out a huge 8 bedroom 4 bathroom water front condo at Lake Crescent. Tanya and the rest of the Denali's, now including Kate's mate, Garrett, wanted to have some family time. Because of this, Poppa suggested for Jake to stay back, since the fact that Irina, Kate and Tanya's beloved sister, had just died over her mourning for Laurent, her mate that was killed by a werewolf, and her false accusations about me being an immortal child.

Everyone was inside getting ready and whatnot whereas I was way ahead of them. I sat down on the dock with my feet dipped into the water. Even with the heat still in the air, the water's temperature decreased considerably. I had on a pair of blue green swim shorts and a plain white tee.

I was admiring the sunset. The sun's dying rays reflected on my dark bronze curly hair, giving it a peculiar purple, orange, red tint. Despite the empty feeling I had from missing my best friend, I was excited for the night's activities.

I was planning how I would go about splashing Aunt Rose since she would be the only one not willing to participate in the water games. Surely, she would just be watching from the sidelines. I almost didn't get to join my family because momma said I would get too tired and just fall asleep in the water. Carmen didn't want me to miss out so she sang me a Spanish lullaby for a nap. She was always so sweet and soothing.

It was probably around 3am and I was indeed successful at splashing Aunt Rose. I did have some help from Uncle Emmett and Aunt Tanya. She got so livid that she jumped right in, stiletto heels and all, and started splashing right back with full force. It was really fun. We even played Chicken[**A/N I don't know the actual name of the water game. hehe sorry**].

Everyone was even up in numbers except me and Aunt Tanya so we paired up. I could easily balance her on my shoulders but she insisted for me to be the one on top.  
She took me out of the water and placed me gently onto her stone cold shoulders. We were nearing the group when my dad gasped. Before I can ask what was wrong my mom swept me away and we were on the dock in an instant.

She went to grab towels from the condo and came back a millisecond later. While she was wrapping herself in one, I touched her neck.

(Why did we leave, momma?) She didn't have to answer my question because just then there was a breeze and I involuntarily shivered.

I looked down and that's when I saw. My white tee was fully drenched and my whole chest was visible. And I mean MY WHOLE CHEST. Blood flooded my cheeks as I blushed in utter humiliation. I hope everyone didn't see that.

The next day I was accompanied by my mom and Aunt Alice. We drove to Tacoma for some bra shopping. I was technically not even a year old yet but I was physically 10 years old so to everyone else nothing was out of the ordinary.

That didn't mean it wasn't extremely inept. I tried on bra after bra after bra and when we got back to the condo, we each had 10 bags filled with bras.

Uncle Emmett managed to snatch one out of my mom's bags and said, "I don't know why you three bought like a million of these things when she's just gonna grow outta them in a month or so."

Aunt Rose nudged him in the rib but all he did was fill the whole condo with his guffaws.

* * *

At that moment I busted out the bathroom door to go after my uncle. My dad caught my wrist before I even got passed my bed.

I hissed in defiance but the look my dad gave me straightened me out. He sighed and just took me into his arms, nearly suffocating me.

I hugged him after a while and he murmured, "You're growing up so fast, Nessie."

To lighten up the mood I said, "Well at least I'm going to live forever." He gave a small chuckle and kissed my forehead, my nose and my chin.

Just then Poppa came in. "How're you feeling sweetheart?"

I thought about it and I realized I didn't really feel anything. I answered, "I'm feeling just fine. I don't have any cramps or anything."

"Hmmm," he replied. "Well can you come with me, then? I'd like to do some tests, since my theory seems to be correct."

I trusted Poppa considering he was a doctor. He's the only guy that I'm willing to talk to about this feminine hygiene stuff. Uncle Emmett sure didn't help. Daddy must've read my mine because when we reached Poppa's office at the other end of the hall, it was just him and I.

"Would you prefer pads or tampons, dear?" Without any hesitation I answered, "Pads."

He nodded and handed me a whole pack of long maxi pads. After that we discussed his theory. He had in consideration that since blood runs through my veins, it couldn't be impossible for me to have a menstrual cycle. This can also mean that one day, if I got married, I can probably bear children. For the next couple of days and months, we would keep track of my period to see how often it'll come.

Out of curiosity I asked, "So if I were to, I don't know, marry a werewolf…could I have kids?"

Momma told me about the birds and the bees not long after bra shopping, so I knew where babies came from.

He smiled a little in his amusement and said, "I honestly don't have an answer to that, Nessie. But if I would have to take an educated guess, I would say yes, it's probably possible for you to have children with…a werewolf."

Again, I nodded but without looking at him.

We heard a knock and my mom's head peeped in. I sighed in relief and rushed to her. I hugged her around the waist as tightly as I could.

"She's all yours, Bella," Poppa said picking up a book. With that she took me to the living room and we sat down with me cradled in her arms.

America's Funniest Home Videos replaced Black Ops and my uncles were accompanied with their wives sitting right beside them. I scowled at my uncle and all he did was shake from his laughter.

"Aw, come on, Nessie! You know I can't resist making a crack outta an awkward situation."

I sighed in defeat. No matter how angry I get, in the end of the day I'll always love my uncles.

"Fine, fine, I forgive you." I muttered still a bit miffed.  
I touched my mom's neck and asked (Where's Jacob? He was here earlier.)

Momma just said that he and daddy were in the backyard, talking about something. We watched the big screen TV, pretending to pay attention when we really were just waiting silently for them to finish their little chit-chat. When they finally came back in, Jacob had a huge goofy grin on his face and I couldn't help but get suspicious.

"Hey Bella, hey Ness," he greeted never ceasing to drop his smile.

"What's up, Jake?" my mom asked, suspicion in her voice as well.

"Oh, nothing," he said nonchalantly, "Edward just said that I could take Nessie out later. We're gonna have a bonfire. A couple new kids just phased a week ago and it's about that time to bust out the legends."

I copied his smile and shot right out of my mom's lap to hug my dad, who was leaning against the doorway connecting the kitchen and dining room, listening.

(Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!) He chuckled and kissed my head.

Aunt Alice blocked my path to Jacob's open arms and pouted.

"Oh shoot!" I thought.

"Nessie," she whined. "I thought we were going shopping!"

I grabbed her left hand with both of mine and pleaded. (I know, I know. But I got my period and I just totally lost my mood. I just want to relax with Jake for a while. Don't worry, though, because tomorrow I promise me, you, and Aunt Rose will go the minute school lets me out.)

I let go of her hand and batted my eyelashes while giving her a puppy dog face.

Of course she would give in. I smiled victoriously but then she said, "You have to let me dress you for your date, though."

"It's not a date," I muttered, aware of Jacob watching us the whole time. She raised an eyebrow at me and I said, "fine."

I haven't been to La Push in a long time. Aunt Alice, surprisingly, dressed me in something normal and appropriate. I had on a striped tank top and a lime green jacket with a hoodie. I wore my favorite black skinny jeans and my converse.

We arrived just in time because there was a short line to the picnic table of food. I hadn't realized I was starving.

I was greeted by Seth and Leah Clearwater. Seth was always jubilant whereas Leah was nearly the opposite.

That all changed when she met Quil's cousin, Shaun, visiting from Richland, Oregon. They, too, were almost inseparable, just like me and Jake. I smiled when she hugged me. She was sorta my aunt now, too.

My grandpa Charlie and Sue were now engaged. The way he did it was very romantic, too, although he did have some help from Aunt Alice.

He took her out one night when she thought it was just the usual date night. They went off to the Geiser Grand Hotel and Restaurant. They had a fabulous dinner and then he insisted they went out to dance. Aunt Alice was well connected with the owner and so she reserved the banquet room on the 10th floor. We were all waiting on the other side of the dance floor. Thanks to our super hearing skills we heard what was going on. He had waited until the chorus of You and I by Michael Buble to pop the question. She happily said yes and right when the wall divided, they were in a deep, passionate kiss. I was so happy for them. For the rest of the night, we celebrated with dancing, eating and laughing. Aunt Alice was euphoric with another wedding task. She lived for planning events. And shopping.

Leah and Sue weren't the only ones in love this time around.

Paul, who was now Sam's beta, also found a significant other.

Denise was from Sequim which wasn't that far from Forks. She had been hiking in the forests when Paul found her lying on a trail. She had lost her path and slipped. Denise was half unconscious when Paul carried her to Emily's.

When she finally regained her strength, she took one look around the room and only saw Paul. It was the same for Paul, too, because soon after that, they became indivisible as well. She was living in a one bedroom apartment in Sequim but left that all behind just to be with Paul. He told her what he was and she was very well accepting of that.

I smiled at all of the couples that were present at the bonfire. Once everyone had eaten, the stories began. The last thing I heard was Billy's, Jacob's dad, brawny, deep voice.

I woke up, cradled in Jake's warm arms. Grandpa Charlie and Sue kissed me goodnight and soon we were in the Rabbit.

"Those legends never get old," I mumbled sleepily before I got carried up into the main house.

"Night, night, Jakey," was the last thing I said as I was being tucked into bed.


	4. Chapter 4

****Warning! This chapter may be a little graphic...****

**BELLA'S POV**

Chapter 4: Always Coming Back

Once Jake had left Renesmee's room I got up from the dining room table, leaving my magazine behind.

"Thanks for tucking her in, Jake," I said.

"No problem, Bells," he replied. "Well I gotta go, see ya tomorrow."

I stopped him before he would turn around. "Wait, I want to talk to you for a sec."

He looked confused as I pushed him down onto one of the chairs at the table. I sighed and started, "Edward told me about the other night when you and Renesmee almost kissed. She's only 5 years old, Jake, plus she's not even in high school yet. We've talked about this and I still stand my ground on waiting at least until she's a sophomore. Even if she finds out you two are destined for each other, there's still some boundaries you have to abide to." I stopped to study his face.

He answered calmly, "Yeah, Bella, I know. And like I said, I'm willing to wait for her for as long as I have to. Although, I'm not sure if I have Edward's patience. If I absolutely must, then I will wait for 100 years for her. We were so in the moment the other night that the spark overpowered me."

I saw nothing but complete utter adoration when he spoke about her.

I smiled at that and said, "Okay, I just wanted to remind you."

He got up and I walked him to his car.

"Say hello to Billy for me," I called as I was walking up the steps to the front door and waved.

I had barely stepped into the house when I heard Edward play my lullaby in the music room. I knew that he was calling me so I dashed to be by his side. The notes filled the room with an atmosphere of admiration. I sat next to him and just as the song ended, I was kissing his neck, his jugular, and repeated until he replaced them with his lips. At first he kissed me gently. It reminded me of when I was human. He was always so careful not to crush my fragile figure. He didn't need to worry about that anymore. I smiled against his feathery smooth kiss. His hands coiled my waist to place me onto his lap. I had my hands tangled in his sleek bronze hair when we were so rudely interrupted by Jasper.

"As much as I love the fact that you guys are so deeply in love and in lust," he said with a grimace, "you two should really get a room. I can feel your aroused emotions from the backyard."

A growl had managed to slip from my lips when Edward had swept me off my feet. We were heading to our cottage. I dropped my shield so that he could hear, (he didn't have to ask us twice.)

With that, he ran full speed and in 10 seconds flat we were in the giant cottage Esme had given to us for my birthday. But I had been 18 when Edward turned me and I would be 18 forever with my husband.

My hands were still lost in his hair with my legs wrapped securely around his waist when we entered our room. Our lips were practically glued together as he pinned me against the wall. Apparently he had already ripped my jeans and shirt apart because the only things I had on were my bra and underwear. His lips were busy exploring my neck and chest while I tore his light blue long sleeved shirt off so that his glorious body was exposed, except for his navy blue boxers.

We were finally on the bed and the silence in the cottage was displaced by our moans. The night continued on undisturbed and full of ecstasy as we worshipped each other. There was never enough time in a day for me to love my husband this way. All too soon we would have to stop and care for our daughter.

The sun was peeking through the forest as I watched Edward get up to find some clothes for us to wear for today. Renesmee would be waking up soon and we would have to escort her to her homeroom to explain her absence in her last 3 classes.

Edward chose a light grey sweater dress for me and a darker grey long sleeve buttoned up dress shirt and black slacks for him. He looked so handsome that I had to resist the urge to jump up and tear it all up just so that we can continue where we would have left off. Just then he pulled me up and we ran, hand in hand, towards the main house. We greeted everyone with a good morning and I was delighted to see that Renesmee was dressed similarly like me.

"Good morning, Momma. Good morning, Daddy," she said with her bell-like voice. They were music to my ears. Edward picked her up and he kissed her cheek while I kissed the other. Her face was so smushed that I could hardly understand when she said we were strangling her. Rosalie had taken her hunting for breakfast so she looked more rosy-cheeked than usual.

We arrived at FJH a good half hour before school started. We entered through the south hallway to avoid the throng of kids by the main entrance. Renesmee led the way to her homeroom and when we got in I was surprised to see no one was in class besides Ms. Hill. My daughter was right when she said Leila was gorgeous. She was writing the agenda on the board for the day when Renesmee got her attention.

"Oh, hello there, Renesmee. Good morning, sweetheart, and I see you've brought company. I'm Ms. Hill but you can call me Leila," she said gesturing for us to shake her hand.

I was a little shocked to see she didn't even flinch at our nearly freezing touch. Her pastel gray eyes, however, moved to and fro from me, Edward, and Nessie, as if she knew exactly what we were. I panicked and dropped my shield so that Edward can hear my thoughts.

(Is she one of us? She smells fully human to me but she seems to suspect what we are.)

All he did was pat my arm. I was going to have to wait for an answer.

"Nice to meet you, Leila," he said coolly at her. "I'm Edward Cullen, Renesmee's older brother and this is Bella, my wife."

"Wife?" she asked with both her eyebrows shooting up. "No offense but you two look awfully young to be married," she said incredulously.

Edward just smiled my favorite crooked smile and replied smoothly, "I assure you, Leila, that we're both 19 now and got married last August 13th."

She nodded and continued, "Well what can I do for you?"

We explained why Nessie got taken out of school yesterday and Leila said that she was perfectly fine and wouldn't get into any trouble. The first day wasn't that important anyway plus it was a half day.

Once we were done chatting, we left Renesmee but stayed in the forest to keep an eye on her. I haven't forgotten my question about Leila's reaction to us so when we were safely hidden along the trees, I asked my burning question.

"Why didn't she look shocked when we shook her hand?"

He was leaning against a tree when he answered, "She does suspect what we are. In fact, she already knows but she doesn't want to believe it because she speculates about Renesmee." He shrugged like he was just telling me the weather forecast for the week.

I was suddenly frustrated. I didn't want to leave Forks just yet. Everything was perfect the way it was. Charlie was now engaged to Sue Clearwater and that meant he learned about me and the rest of my siblings, even Renesmee. He was surprisingly calm about the whole thing. It turned out that he sort of suspected I wasn't human anymore because of a movie he watched. Only my dad would piece things together like that. Even my friendship with Leah, Sue's daughter, improved. She hated me with a passion, an in fact, the only reason why she probably never ripped my head off was because Jacob had imprinted on Renesmee and the pack would never pain a brother like that, especially an Alpha.

"Don't worry, love," Edward whispered next to me now as he hugged me from behind. "We don't have to move away, if that's what you're thinking, because Leila isn't a threat. She happens to know what we are only because she's in love with one."

I turned around to face him and tried not to laugh hysterically.

"Wow. Are you serious?" stifling giggles. He smirked and said, "Yes, I'm very serious. His name is Zachary and he's like us, with golden eyes. That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. We don't know his motives. Although from what I see in her mind, he loves her."

It was lunch time by now and we killed time by climbing up the trees. Edward played around by imitating a squirrel but even with my jumping from branch to branch, he beat me to the top. He leaped from his tree, nearly 20 feet away, to join me. We sat on a thicker branch and he rocked me gently back and forth. Again, I dropped my shield so I could ask him what Renesmee was doing.  
He said that she was sitting at a lunch table with her new friend, Mia. She was apologizing to her because of her unexpected exit yesterday. I smiled to myself. Renesmee never ceased to amaze me. I'm glad we brought her up right. He also said that Mia was inviting her to a Halloween party.

Edward's concentration went in another direction when the tree started to shake. Edward was stiller than usual. A snarl escaped from his lips and my instincts kicked in. I covered the both of us in my shield. Just then we heard Carlisle call for us to go down.

I looked at Edward and he nodded. We leapt without much effort and landed gracefully next to Esme. Alice, as well as everyone else, had a mask of pain and confusion. My face mirrored theirs when Edward and Alice said, "They're coming for her," in complete unison.

**OH! Cliff hanger! Hehehehe just to let you guys know...I like to do these more often than not ;)**

**Next update should be soon...**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Unstoppable

I knew this day would come. The fact that they were coming so soon tipped me off even more. I felt a sudden urge to rush to my daughter and keep her in my arms forever, away from any harm. I was barely attentive of my body obeying my thoughts because in half a second I was surrounded by the trees instead of my family. Of course, Edward caught up with me just in time. The rest had also followed him.

"Hold on, Bella, there's no need to be rash. Hear me out," Alice said. "The whole guard isn't coming. Aro is simply just going to send some spies. Plus we have plenty of time to strategize. They won't be sending anyone out here until after Christmas."

I relaxed just slightly. Nearly 3 months. My daughter's life would be in jeopardy in just 3 short months.

"We'd already alerted the pack. Paul and Sam had placed the new kids on watch with them. We'll keep her safe, Bella," Carlisle said reassuringly. All I did was nod. For now, we'd continue to patrol the school.

We got home and we acted like everything was perfectly fine. I knew Renesmee all too well that she suspected something was off. Just like she promised, she went shopping with her aunts. Alice would keep an eye on her, plus Rosalie treated Renesmee as if she was her own so I knew she was safe. Jacob was upset with letting her go anywhere after the vision but I insisted for her to go and have some fun. I didn't want to worry her little head.

Edward had informed Carlisle about Leila and he encouraged for us to get to know her better and perhaps even get her and Zachary, her vampire boyfriend, to come over so that we'd know for certain she was safe with him.

"I think you should be the one to do it, Bella," Carlisle said from across the room. "She's more likely to open up to you than Edward. I have nothing but utmost confidence in you," he added with a smile.

"We'll talk to her as soon as we can," Edward said voluntarily.

After that, everyone went their separate ways for the night.

Alice, Rosalie, and Renesmee came home just before 10pm. Renesmee rushed to me elated and told me her period was gone. I was shocked. It had been less than 48 hours since she started her cycle. Unexpected events happen when you have a hybrid for a daughter, I guess. I still had her in my arms when Jacob came in with my husband.

"Ness, it's bed time. Jake is going to tuck you in, okay?" Edward said as Jake came towards us with his waiting arms.

I raised my eyebrows at my husband. He was rarely this nice to Jacob, always protective over our daughter. Even she knew her father was acting out of character. Her face crunched up in uncertainty when she leaped out of my arms, completely forgetting Jacob's open arms, to touch Edward's face. We try our best to give her everything she wants so keeping secrets form her wasn't easy.

"We can't tell you just yet, baby," Edward said stroking her long curly hair the same shade as his. "I'm sorry."

She pouted and stormed off to her bedroom. Edward nodded for Jacob to follow her. After that, everyone had gathered around the dining room table. All of us, excluding Carlisle, took a seat.

"So let's discuss strategy," he started.

"From what I saw in Alice's vision, Aro coveted new members. Unfortunately, I don't know their powers," Edward said on my side.

"What does he want exactly?" asked Rosalie. Jasper answered, "In my opinion, they plan to kidnap Nessie in hopes of negotiating for Edward, Bella, and Alice to join him."

Everyone nodded at this consideration.

"I still say we kick anyone's ass that even touches her hair," Emmett said punching his left palm over and over again. To my surprise, Carlisle agreed.

"If we absolutely must, then we will dispatch of those who threaten anyone in our family and that includes the pack. However, we must obtain information from them first."

Rosalie rolled her eyes when he spoke about the pack being a part of the family.

"I don't think we have to resort to that," Alice said thoughtfully. "The wolves nearly doubled in size over the years. If we're not enough to protect her from the Volturi, the pack will.

"You got that right," Jacob said with a smile as he took the last step of the stairs. "But seriously, though, why do they want her again?"

Carlisle kindly got Jacob caught up with the rest of us. He even suggested for Nessie to come and stay at the reservation a couple times in the week and to my amazement, Edward allowed it.

He must've read Jacob's apprehensive mind because he said, "Jake, I've trusted you with my daughter's life before and I'll trust you time and time again. Although, I dislike the fact that she's becoming fonder of you, I wouldn't want anyone else for her. There's no doubt in my mind that you'll keep her safe."

Jacob replied with a nod.

"We should train Nessie while time is on our side," Emmett pitched in. Before anyone could object, he continued, "do we really want her to stand defenseless? I mean, don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that we'll beat the crap out of anyone who comes her way but why not save her from being scared?"

Edward's face was gallant. I already knew my decision, but it was OUR daughter that we were talking about, so I waited for his response.

Renesmee would have the best protection that she'd be untouchable. So it was indisputable.

"Ness, I know you're listening. Come down here, now, Missy," Edward said.

As she slowly ascended the stairs to make her way to us, she had her head bowed down the whole time, like she was ashamed. To me she looked so small and innocent it was silly. I tried not to laugh. She must've known she'd get her way eventually. She stopped in front of us, with her eyes fixed on her fuzzy, night slippers. Edward held her by her shoulder with one arm and lifted her chin with the other using his index finger, so that they were both eye to eye.

"You know that eavesdropping is unacceptable, young lady," Edward lectured.

"I'm sorry, daddy," she whispered.

"You shouldn't have tricked Jacob, either, into thinking you were fast asleep when in truth, you clearly weren't."

She nodded with her lips quivering just a bit. "But since you want to know our secret so badly, we'll tell you."

Her face went from excitement from finally being in the know to horror and discreet when he repeated the awful news. My face mirrored hers as the thought finally sunk in. They were coming after her again. This time, however, I felt more prepared.

A few hours later, she was cradled in Jacob's arms on the couch, falling slowly asleep when I declared to everyone that the Volturi were no match against us. We wouldn't go down without a fight and being a part of the Volturi would be the last thing we'd ever do in our immortal lives. We would not cower in fear, watching in the dark as they sent out spies to capture my daughter. We would continue living normally and without worry but still take precautions.

My declaration fueled everyone's mindset. We became even more determined. Jasper, Edward, and Emmett mulled over Renesmee's training schedule. She would start as soon as the next day. Jacob handed Nessie over to me, kissed the both of us on the forehead, and said his goodbye's to everyone.

As I was walking up the stairs in human speed, I reminisced the time when Ness was half the size she was now. I placed her on her bed and a smile formed on her face. I took her hand and placed it on my cheek. She was dreaming of the night she and Jake had almost kissed. I let go gently and sighed. Soon she'd know who Jacob really is to her. I knew in my heart she'd always be my baby girl. Even with Jake as her soul mate, a mother and daughter bond is unlike any other and nothing and no one can ever change that.

Not even the Volturi.


	6. Chapter 6

**Renesmee's POV**

CHAPTER 6: SOONER THAN LATER

Weeks flew by in seconds. It was the last couple weeks of November and we had a break from school. Mia and I hung out a lot. I even brought her to the house a couple of times. I hated not telling her who I really was. Best friends don't keep secrets from each other. There were so many times that I almost let it slip out. I knew that this was for her safety. It'd be too dangerous for her to know, especially since the Volturi would be sending out spies soon.

Daddy and my uncles have been training me almost nonstop. Even Jake would help out most of the time. At first things were rough. For a vampire, I was clearly out of shape! Unfortunately, I inherited my mom's clumsiness. Within 2 seconds, I'd be pinned down. I'd huff in frustration and then my focus would disintegrate and I'd always find myself spending lots of time on the ground.

After a few days of training with them, Gramma offered to take over and teach me some martial arts. I gladly went to her, wanting to take some time away from the boys. To my astonishment, she was really helpful. After a week with her, I went back to daddy and my uncles, ready to kick someone's ass.

"Oh, so you've come back to us now, huh, Nessie?" Uncle Emmett said with a sly grin on his face while his arms were crossed.

"Well believe it or not, Gramma helped me out more than you ever did," I replied after sticking my tongue out at him.

All he did was laugh. "Whatever you say, Ness."

Daddy asked, "Who do you want to practice with today?"

My main target today was Jacob. He got me a couple times last week and I wanted revenge.

"Where's Jake? He's still not forgiven for not going easy on me."

"Very well then. I think we should sit out and watch by the patio. I have a feeling we're going to enjoy this," daddy said heading over to the patio with my uncles.

Uncle Jasper was the one to call for Jake. He came out with food still in his mouth and a half eaten sandwich in his hand. Seth, Paul, and Quil were still inside finishing their lunch. By the time Jacob was in front of me, he was grinning mischievously.

"Are you sure you want a rematch, Nessie? Cos I still won't go easy on you."

"We'll see about that," I said walking over to the other side of the backward. We both nodded and then we charged. He threw hooks and jabs left and right but I dodged them all. I ducked one time and kicked him. He fell to the ground. He got back up and charged for me again. I was aiming for his chest, but instead I took a hold of his huge toned right arm and flipped him over effortlessly. The ground shook when he fell on his back. I wasn't aware that everyone came out to watch us on the back patio. They applauded while Seth, Paul, and Quil laughed hysterically. He was still breathing heavily on the ground and I sat on his chest. I smiled victoriously at him.

"Ha!" I beat you! This was for the last fight session. So unless you wanna get another ass-whooppin', you better watch yourself, Jacob Black," I playfully sneered at him while I pounced off of his chest.

"Renesmee!" my mom called. "Language, young lady." I gave her an apologetic look and my dad just laughed as he hugged her by the waist.

"She never ceases to amaze me or make me proud," he announced to everyone.

I blushed as they started to applause again. Jacob managed to get back up and started making his way over to the boys. I went over to the porch swing, tired from today's practice. It was incredibly amusing watching Jake chase his pack brothers around the back yard. He finally got a hold of Paul, his obvious target, and got him in a chokehold.

This day has been one of the most fun I've had in a while. I grinned at Jake and how easily he can turn a serious situation into a funny one. All four of the boys began play fighting.

The sun was setting and that meant it would be dinner time soon. The smell of chicken alfredo enveloped the whole backyard. Jake and the boys must've smelled it, too, because before Gramma even got the chance to call them in, they were already jogging over. I was still swinging gently on the porch swing with my eyes set on the changing sky.  
Jake cleared his throat and I looked at him leaning on the wall, watching me.

"Hey," he smirked.

"Right back at ya," I said coolly, getting up. I was a step away from entering the kitchen when he got a hold of my waist to bring me closer to him.

He had on a plain white shirt and khaki shorts but it was enough to make me drool. We were so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his body. His eyebrow shot up and he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Oh, my gosh. Was I really gawking at him?

"Nothing," I said all too quickly. He gave out a short laugh but instantly became serious again. He was staring directly into my eyes and maybe even to my soul before he said without faltering, "Come with me, tonight."

I blinked a couple of times, processing what he meant. All that I could say was, "What?"

"Ness. It feels like we haven't seen each other for days even if I do come over every day. We always used to spend time together and I just miss that, you know? So I was just wondering if you'd come with me tonight?"

I thought about it, crossed my arms and tapped my finger on my chin while looking up and around. He was starting to get impatient. I loved messing with Jake.

"Well what did you have in mind?"

We hooked arms and we started walking over to the kitchen door. "We can go to the beach after eating. If you wanna go for a swim, we can do that. Whatever you want to do, I'm willing to do it, too, as long as we're together."

I smiled and nodded without having a second thought. I became opulent about tonight. We were in the kitchen now and we could hear Uncle Emmett and the rest of the boys in the living room watching some sort of game. Luckily his pack brothers left us some food.

After I ate, I went to the music room where I knew my dad would be. I skipped to his side and sat down to place my head on his shoulder. I examined how elegantly his fingers glided across the keys to make such wonderful music. I had almost forgotten why I came in the first place.

"Daddy?" I asked as innocently as I could while nuzzling his neck.

I felt him shake from a chuckle and he said, "Yes, you can go with Jacob tonight. Say goodbye to your mother first."

I jumped up from excitement and locked my arms around his neck. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!) I screamed in my head and kissed his neck.

"Be back before midnight. Don't forget that you're going over to Mia's tomorrow," he called as I went up the stairs to find my mom in Aunt Alice's room with Aunt Rosalie.

As soon as I came in, they looked up from their magazines and smiled. "Good job beating the dog today, sweetie," Aunt Rose congratulated.

"Thank you" was all I managed to say from all the kisses my mom was giving me.

"Momma," I groaned. She stopped and giggled. "Sorry, sweetie. I'm just so proud of you. You've improved so much in such a little time."

(All thanks to Gramma) I thought.

She smiled and asked, "So what's up, baby girl?"

I told her about my plans with Jake and she nodded approvingly. "Okay, have fun, sweetheart." With that she kissed me goodbye, as well as Aunt Rosalie. I was making my way out the room when

Aunt Alice suddenly appeared, blocking the doorway.  
"It's a blurry sight, but I see you and Jake having a blast in the water. And that only means one thing: SWIMWEAR! Now come with me," she said dragging me into the biggest closet in the whole entire house. "I'm thinking dark teal will suit you better in contrast with the obscurity of the water. There's a full moon tonight so you'll look even more irresistible," she rambled on.

She handed me a dark teal tankini; she and I both knew daddy would rip our throats out if I was in a bikini, and a pair of denim shorts and a white v-neck shirt to cover it up.

Jake and I left everyone and started running through the forest. In 5 minutes we were in La Push and in a minute we reached the beach. I stripped out of my shirt and shorts and I enjoyed Jake's eyes bulge out just a little when I was in my tankini.

I placed my hand on his chest and stared into his eyes. He stiffened at my touch. And then I smirked and dashed away.

"Last one in the water is a stinky werewolf!" I called just a few leaps from the water.

I dove in and stayed beneath the surface for 10 straight minutes. Jake swam after me as I was coming up for air. I shrieked when he got my ankle. We splashed and played in the ocean for who knew how long. We stopped at one point to dry off. He sat down on a bench-like log and I joined him, I had my shirt and shorts back on thinking that I'd shiver without them but with Jacob right next to me it was like having your own personal heater. I acted on impulse and out my head on his shoulder, well more like his left bicep.

We stayed like that for a good while until he finally broke the silence and said, "I never realized the night sky was so beautiful with a full moon."

I smiled at his comment and then remembered that not too long ago; it was also a full moon when we almost kissed. I slightly stiffened at his side from the memory.

He felt it and whispered, "what's wrong?"

I knew he was looking at me but I kept my eyes straight ahead, fixed on the waves softly crashing against the sand. He turned my head with both of his hands and held me there.  
"What's the matter?" he asked, his tone concerned.

I bit my lip, unable to answer his question. If I told him how I felt, right now, how would he react? The worst thing he could do is run away or shoot me down right here and then. So I gathered up all the courage I had and whispered, "Jake, I like—"

Before I could finish, his cell phone buzzed.

"Bella?" he answered, confused. He kept his eyes on me the whole time he was speaking to my mom. His expression was cloudy and then his gaze shifted from me to the forest. My mom's words were muffled that I couldn't really comprehend what she told him. Jake hung up after a minute or two and he got up, dragging me with him.

His grasp was firm on my left wrist as we headed toward his house. "Jake, what're we doing?" I asked.

"I'm sorry I had to cut you off earlier," he apologized as we entered the door. Billy was in the living room, watching TV.

"S'okay," I mumbled, pushing my incomplete statement out of my mind.

"Hey there, Nessie," Billy greeted me. "Son, what's wrong?"

Jake sat me down on the couch and started pacing. "Edward and Jasper caught an unfamiliar scent following us when we went to the beach."

My eyes widened in horror. It was too soon for the Volturi to be sending out their spies.

"Is anyone hurt?" I asked, terrified. Jacob shook his head and I relaxed slightly.

"Your mom said for you to stay here for now while they go and investigate. I'm gonna go and help them out," he said still pacing.

I got up and stopped him to touch his face. (No. please don't leave. I'm scared.)

He sighed after thinking about it for a while. "Fine, I'll stay. But I'll have to phase to get someone to help them out."

I nodded, allowing him to leave. I was left alone with Billy. He assured me that everything would be okay. I smiled. Billy was always caring and soothing. Jake came back in from the back and placed me on his lap. There wouldn't be enough room for us to be on the same couch. I sunk into him. His dad left to go to sleep and we were alone in the living room. Although I was petrified at the fact there was a vampire on the loose watching me, I was sort of glad that whoever it was interrupted what I was going to say to Jake.

As if he could read my mind, he asked, "So what were you going to tell me earlier?"  
I shook my head and said, "Sorry, I don't remember." Things happen for a reason, right? So that meant it's not the right time to tell Jacob how I felt just yet. He nodded and we watched TV, patiently waiting for someone to tell us what happened.  
A few hours later, I caught a glimpse at the clock and it was nearing midnight. I yawned involuntarily.

"Ness, you're tired. I can tuck you in at my room if you want. I'll wake you up immediately when I get some news."

"No, I wanna stay in your arms and wait until someone comes and tell me that they caught the guy."

Just then my parents came through the door. I rushed to my mom and touched her face. (Are you okay? Did you guys catch him?)

My dad was the one that answered. "We lost his scent because he went into the water. It's a good thing he didn't get a chance to come near you two."

Jake looked flustered when he said, "I can't believe I didn't smell him." My dad shook his head and replied, "It's fine, Jacob. I don't think you guys were in danger. You didn't smell him because he was watching from afar. He didn't step onto the sand. We followed his scent over to the cliff and we're guessing he dove right in and his in the water to watch more closely."

I shivered at the thought and said, "Can we go home now?" wanting to escape from this nightmare.

"Sure, sweetheart," daddy said.

"I'm gonna send Seth and Embry out to patrol around the perimeter just to be safe. I'll take over after I get some shut eye," Jake said.

My dad nodded and thanked him. Jake kissed both me and my mom on the forehead and we left for the main house.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Intoxicating

**Renesmee's POV**

I woke up the next day, excited for today's event. I told myself I'd forget about last night and have fun with Mia. She invited me to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family. I've met her mom but not her grandparents, but I was still excited.

I slept surprisingly well despite what happened last night. It was lunch time and Gramma made me spaghetti. She also made lots more for me to bring to Mia.

My uncles and I killed time by playing video games. Uncle Jasper shot me for what seemed the 50th time before Aunt Alice called me into her room so she can dress me for the dinner party. Everyone else was dispersed all over the house. I entered her colossal room and she pulled me into the bathroom. She sat me down on the salon chair and started applying all sorts of makeup on my face. Soon a second pair of hands started weaving through my hair. I opened my eyes to see it was Aunt Rose. I remembered how nice it felt when she used to brush my hair when I was younger.

Within an hour, I was dressed and ready to go. The sun was preparing to set. Aunt Alice dressed me in a pretty beige poofy dress with just enough tool. The outer layer was riddled with sparkles and she gave me a matching silver glitter clutch purse. She insisted for me to wear the new stiletto heels she bought me but we compromised on my champagne peep toe wedges.

I said my goodbye's to my family before piling into my dad's Volvo with my parents. We reached Mia's place in 8 minutes. Her house was small but cute. Outside it was painted a light yellow. The front lawn was free of any leaves. Even the rose bushes were neatly trimmed and perfectly round.

I got out of the car and waved off my parents. The huge bowl of spaghetti would've been really heavy for a human to carry with one hand but thanks to my half-vampire strength, I managed pretty well. I rang the doorbell and quickly went into a stance that showed me struggling with the weight of the bowl of pasta. A full 20 seconds past before Mia opened the door.

"Hey, Nessie! Oh! Let me give you a hand with that," she said, taking the spaghetti so that I could hang my light gray trench coat on her coat rack. Outside the house was very light in color but inside it was a very warm red with tons of brown accents everywhere. Gramma and Aunt Alice would easily approve this design.

"Mia, your house is too cute! I love it in here. It has such a warm vibe to it," I proclaimed following her to the back.

"Thanks," she smiled genuinely. "So I hope you don't mind, but we're going to be eating outside. Thankfully it's not snowing like we expected. We have heater torches outside plus my grandpa is grilling some chicken out back."

"Oh, it's totally fine," I said.

Her grandparents were so nice. They were in their late 50's at least. Mia's mom could easily pass as her sister but instead of having Mia's hair color, she had long brown locks.

We ate, laughed, and talked. It was nice spending time with someone else's family. Mia looked gorgeous with her peach strapless dress that fell just above her knees.

Her family was curious about my family and I gladly told them my cover. Mia's grandpa joked about how Mia's grandma became mesmerized by my doctor of a father. He said she was having some pain near her knees and my 'dad' was the one who treated her.  
I laughed knowing all too well that even many of the nurses had the hots for my grandfather at the hospital.

The night was ending all too quickly. Mia loved the spaghetti I brought and even requested if she can save some for leftovers. We also took pictures. Mia and I took one together and then I took their family picture inside, in front of the fireplace. Once that was done, her grandparents left.  
I helped Mia clean up for a little bit. After that, we went up to her room. We plopped down on her bed and started flipping through her fashion magazines.

"So whatcha been doing over the break?" she asked while reading her horoscope.

I shrugged and answered, "Nothing much I guess. Just practiced some martial arts with my family."

Her head shot up, along with her eyebrows, and incredulously said, "martial arts isn't a 'nothing much' matter," doing air quotes at 'nothing much.'

"I've been doing it for a while now. In fact, I've gotten better that I took Jacob down the other day," I said, my smile growing at the memory. She must've taken it the wrong way because she replied, "I knew it! You DO like Jake! It's so obvious with the way you look at him. And if you ask me, he definitely likes you back. Too bad he's sorta older than you." She was lying on her stomach with her hands cupping her face.

I rolled my eyes at her and said, "I told you it's not like that. Jake and I are strictly just friends. I've known him all my life." Before she could interject I continued, "Besides, if I did like him and I told him I liked him, things would get extremely awkward. I don't want to lose him."

She was quiet for a while and then she started laughing.

"You're just not convincing me, sweetie. I know you enough to know you're crushing on him. And I mean if I were in your shoes, I would be, too, cos the guy is tall, dark, and gor-ge-ous! So as your BFF, Ness, I practically know you in and out! YOU-LIKE-JACOB," she said with her eyes practically coming out of her eye sockets.

I shook my head and giggled at her persistence. But I gave in. She is after all my BFF.

I replied, exasperated, "Okay! Okay! Fine, you win. You happy? I like Jake. In fact I'm falling in love with him even though I know I shouldn't!"

She got up from the bed and started jumping up and down from my declaration. After a good 3 minutes of her dancing and clapping she sat back down and calmed herself.

"You should really let him know how you feel. I know I said he was a little older than you but so what? Age is nothing but a number, baby!"

You have no idea how true that is, I thought to myself. "Since I told you how I really feel about Jake, I might as well tell you how we almost kissed."

Her eyes bulged out once again as I told her about the incident.  
We talked for hours and hours but it was getting pretty late. Mia walked me out to the living room to retrieve my coat. My parents arrived right on time: 11:30 pm. It was pretty chilly outside so Mia stayed in and just watched as I went inside the Volvo.

Before we drove away I remembered that I left my clutch purse in her backyard. Daddy heard my thought and he stopped the car.

"Go back silently. Make sure Mia or her mother don't see you."

I nodded and dashed out of the car. I ran full speed to the back. It wasn't lit so I didn't need to be worried about getting caught. I had my clutch in hand and was about to head back when a figure emerged from the woods.

"Hey, cutie," he said seductively. My brain was screaming at me to move but I couldn't. As our eyes were locked in placed, he held me there. "Why don't you join me for some cake? Come on, don't be scared. I won't hurt you." He motioned for me to come to him with his finger. My feet obeyed and in a few seconds I was right next to him.

He was as tall as my dad and was so hauntingly handsome with his hypnotizing lavender eyes. Now that I was closer to him, I got a better look.

"Would you like some cake? It's red velvet. The blood makes it red…" As he spoke, his eyes swirled with a rainbow of colors. The more it swirled, the more I wanted to obey him. My mouth began to water. He wasn't lying when he said there was blood in the cake. I could smell it and it was calling me.

"Just take one bite. I promise you, it is to die for," he whispered angelically. I couldn't say no and I realized I didn't want to say no. I was inching towards him, my eyes never looking away from his, although I was aware we were getting deeper into the forest.  
He held up the fork that had a piece of the cake and he fed it to me. A burst of flavors danced around in my mouth, intoxicating me. It was heavenly and I swallowed quickly. What happened next was a blur.

A huge russet wolf pounced on the vampire stranger and as he fell and our gaze broke, I fell, too.

I was paralyzed. I stayed down and as the piece of cake digested I felt the toxin spread all through my blood stream. Everything shut down. I could only hear what was going on around me. I heard my mom calling for me and my uncles restraining the vampire stranger that poisoned me. Then the last thing I heard was the wind as I was being carried through the forest back home. After that, all went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Sleeping Beauty

**Bella's POV**

Edward and I waited in the car for Renesmee to retrieve her clutch purse. It had been 2 minutes. She was taking an awfully long time when she could've gotten her purse and came back in less than 30 seconds.

Before I could officially panic, Edward answered his phone before it rang a second time. Alice was talking in vampire speed, but I could still hear what she was saying. We got out of the car in a flash and followed out daughter's scent.

Jacob had already gotten a firm hold on the vampire. Then I saw Renesmee on the ground, looking lifeless.

"Renesmee! Renesmee, can you hear me? Everything's fine. Momma's here. Nessie, honey, WAKE UP!"

She didn't move or respond in any way. Thankfully I could see her breathing and hear her heart beating. It wasn't thrumming like it should've. It was a lot weaker.

Our family emerged from the trees. I called Rosalie to hold her. She flitted to my side and I placed Renesmee in her arms. Emmett and Jasper restrained the vampire, with their eyes closed. I saw that everyone else was doing the same.

"Bella, can you put your shield around us please?" Carlisle asked and I obeyed. I felt the invisible elastic band stretch out of me and the rest of my family, except Emmett and Jasper, and they opened their eyes.

Edward was the one to ask, "What did you do to her?" The vampire didn't answer.

_"CALEB, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAUGHTER?"_ Edward snarled.

Caleb still didn't reply. Edward was so livid he ran out of my shield and went straight to him and ripped his eyes out. Everyone gasped, including me, and Caleb yelped in pain. I ran over to my husband, with my shield still covering everyone.

He was panting from anger but instantly calmed down at my touch.

"Edward, why did you do that?" I asked.

"That's his power. He hypnotizes with his eyes. Now he has none whatsoever," he responded fiercely.

Caleb was on his knees, making it easier on Jazz and Em to restrain him.

"Carlisle, can you check on Renesmee, please?" I asked. He went over to her without hesitation and Jake was right beside Rosalie, still in his wolf form and whimpered.

Alice was the one investigating now. "What did you do to her?"

This time Caleb answered, "She's poisoned."

A red veil covered my line of sight. He poisoned my daughter. This asshole was gonna die. I dropped my shield and covered him. The millisecond it touched him he flew up into the trees. I thought of strangling him and my shield abided.

"Bella, stop that. We need to get some answers from him if we want to save Nessie," Alice said. I brought my shield back to me and he fell on the ground, face first. He stumbled up to his feet, trying to decide where to escape without his vision, but before he could take another step Emmett and Jasper got a hold of him again.

"It seems to me like she's in a coma," Carlisle said walking over to us. Nessie, Jake and Rosalie were gone from their spot. Carlisle saw my glance at that and said, "I sent them home. She should rest in her bed. I'll leave so that I could properly examine her. Dispatch of him once you get the answers we need."

Before he left, Esme patted my cheek and gave me a reassuring look.

Jasper probably calmed Caleb a little bit. He wasn't fidgeting anymore. I could care less if he was feeling uncomfortable. Edward was holding me back. I really wanted to dig my nails into him and just rip him apart, piece by piece.

"You're going to tell us why you came here and how to get the antidote," I growled at him.

"They sent me! I didn't have a choice! Cauis told me if I failed my mission he'd keep me in the dungeon forever." Seeing him this way opened my eyes more. Caleb looked Renesmee's age. He could've passed as Jane and Alec's brother, now making them triplets. No wonder Aro wanted him to join the guard.

"He also said that you guys were defying the Volturi because you had an immortal child. But I see now that he lied to me. I don't wish to become one of them anymore."

Edward narrowed his eyes and shook his head angrily. "Don't fall for that, Bella. He's trying to get you to forgive him because he knows you're the easiest to persuade."

I went to his side where Jasper was holding him and he let go. I grabbed his right arm and snapped it in half like a twig. Again he yelped in agony. We were deep enough in the forest that any human couldn't have heard his screams.

"Give me the antidote," I whispered violently into his ear.

"I don't have it!" He was being so stubborn. I signaled for Emmett to rip his other arm off when Alice interrupted. "Wait, wait! He's going to tell us!"

"I don't have it because I'm not the one that made it. They gave me an address in Portland, Oregon. I'll give it to you! Her name is Kamielle. She has the antidote. Now let me—"

Before he got a chance to finish, Jasper and Emmett had torn him apart all together. Alice had the lighter and dropped it on the pile of Caleb. Chunks of his body burned instantly and a thick, narrow upstream of lavender-gray smoke arose. The fog in the night covered it as soon as it reached the tops of the trees.

Once everything was cleaned up, we all rushed back to the house. Leah and Seth were pacing in the living room. Alice, Emmett, and Jasper stayed downstairs with them while Edward and I dashed straight to Nessie's room. We entered to find an IV tube attached to her right wrist. Jacob was sitting on the computer chair beside the bed holding her right hand with both of his giant russet hands. Rosalie was on the other side, sitting on her bed stroking her forehead and her hair. I flitted to her side and she gave me a tight hug.

"Carlisle said she'll be fine for now. We gave her morphine just in case she's in any pain at all." Before she left, she looked me straight in the eyes and said, "We'll get through this, Bella, don't worry."  
I nodded at my sister and took her place on my daughter's bed. Jacob had left with Rosalie and now it was just Edward and I with our daughter in a coma. If I could cry, I would. I stared at my husband, completely horrified.

Just then, Carlisle came in with a bag of blood. "Did you get the answers we need?" he asked. Edward gave him a stiff nod. "Caleb said that the antidote can be found in Portland, Oregon. A woman named Kamielle should have it."  
He replaced an empty bag of clear fluid and attached the bag of blood to the IV. As the blood dripped and went into her system, her heart began to beat in its normal way. I looked at Carlisle, hopeful.

"She may be perfectly healthy in the inside but whatever the poison had in it is making her stay in a coma."

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go to Portland," I said getting up and heading for the door.

"Hold on," Carlisle said walking towards me with a strange look. Edward's face became auspicious.

"Did you say the woman's name was Kamielle? If so, I very well may know her," he said pacing. "Hmmm, well if it is her, I should come along with you," he continued, "you see, Kamielle and I met when we were in the guard. Aro absolutely adored her gift so he was extremely unhappy to see her go. She visited me once, Edward probably remembers her, not too long after I changed Esme. She has the knowledge of making potions of all sorts, along with their antidotes. I'm sure she'll help us revive Renesmee."

With that we bought 3 tickets to Portland. Our flight was in 6 hours. Jacob, Rosalie and Esme would keep watch on Nessie and her condition. We didn't pack much since we didn't plan on staying long. Edward and I didn't leave our daughter's side for the meantime.

"Nessie? Baby girl, daddy and I are going to leave for a while, okay? Hang in there. When we come back, everything will be back to normal."

As I said this, a tear fell from her left eye. I looked up to her father for an answer.

"She hears you," Edward said, "I can still hear her mind but only barely. It's like a faint whisper; I have to strain to listen." I nodded. Carlisle came in just then.

"Are you ready?" he asked. We all kissed Nessie goodbye as well as the rest of our family and departed for the airport.

It was around 10am when we got out of the Black Mercedes Guardian we rented, just like the pre-wedding car I had. We drove for about 30 minutes before we reached a house that was quaint but homey. It looked out of place, right in the middle of the dirt road, almost playing like a dead end. In the back, however, the path continued. As we neared the door, we heard rustling inside. Carlisle knocked 3 times and the sounds stopped.

The door flew open and Kamielle was in a crouch with her teeth bared. Edward pushed me slightly behind him, protecting me. I let out my shield, covering the 3 of us. Carlisle held his hands up and backed up slowly.

"Kamielle, we come in peace," he said.

She straightened out simultaneously. "Carlisle? Is that you, old friend?' she asked, staring incredulously at him. "And Edward. I see you've found yourself a beautiful mate." She was smiling sincerely now. All the tension that was present before was now replaced with serenity.

"Please, come in. I'm sorry for earlier, I've just been really jumpy lately. What a silly statement for a vampire to say, huh?"

We let out a small laugh and followed her in. Kamielle and I were about the same height, her long dark auburn, wavy hair passing the small of her back. Her skin, compared to us, was one shade darker. He was clearly Asian with her perfect almond-shaped eyes, the color of dull red. She motioned for us to sit at the enormous round wooden table in her kitchen. A wide variety of ingredients, some familiar and some completely unknown to me, were spread out all over her white granite counter. We sat down while she pulled out a steel stool for her.

"I apologize for the mess. I was arranging my ingredients, you know, throwing some out so I can have room for more, she pointed behind her and continued, "so what brings you guys to my neck of the woods?"

"Well," Carlisle started, "Kamielle, we came here because we need your help." He looked to Edward to take over and he did.

"You say that you've been jumpy, lately. I think it's safe to say you were expecting Aro to come instead of us right?" Edward asked.

She replied with a smile and a huff. "I forgot you can read minds. I am curious, though, because not only is your mate gorgeous but it's obvious she has a powerful gift," she looked at me now, mystified.

"Oh, forgive me, Kamielle. This is my wife, Bella."

We smiled at each other and he added, "she's a shield."

"A very talented couple, indeed. So what can my gift aid for you?"

This time I spoke. "Did the Volturi send a young boy to you recently? To retrieve a poison?"

Her expression was perplexed. "Yes, but how do you know that?"

Edward was the one to answer. "We know that because it's our daughter that got poisoned. And we're here to obtain the antidote.

Now she was hurt and shocked. "Oh my. What have I done?" she whispered to herself.

"You're forgiven, Kamielle. We know you didn't mean any harm to my family. Can you please give us the antidote?" Carlisle asked.

"Of course, of course," she replied going to work immediately. "I was wondering why they requested such a peculiar poison. They ordered for me to not make it as potent and as you may remember, Carlisle, my potions can be deadly."

I flinched at that and Edward patted my arm. "This will only take a few minutes but for the meanwhile, I'd like to hear an update on the Cullen family; particularly how you have a hybrid for a daughter.  
We told her everything. From our relationship when I was still human to the wedding and the pregnancy. Kamielle was also surprised to hear that the Cullen family had indeed doubled in size since she last visited.

"Okay, here it is. She's in a coma now, am I correct?" we all nodded in response.

"I suggest you inject this into both of her wrists. She'll tremble for a good 5 seconds or so and then open her eyes. She may need assistance in walking for a while but I think it's best if she stays in bed for at least 2 hours," she instructed while pouring the dark green fluid into a vile. Carlisle took it and kept it in his coat pocket. Kamielle walked us out.

"I'm truly, awfully sorry for what I've done. There must be another way I can repay you."

Edward was the one to reply, "I see that we've kept you from feeding and for that WE apologize. But instead of killing an innocent human, why not hunt for deer or a mountain lion. I hear that this forest has been having an overpopulation of bears."

Her face was thoughtful in return. "Hmmm…maybe if I have amber eyes like you guys, I'll finally find a mate. You have a deal." Carlisle gave his old friend a hug and invited her to visit soon. We drove off, heading home.


	9. Chapter 9

**BELLA'S POV**

Chapter 9: Revived**  
**  
We got home in 5 hours. We didn't have time to go back and return the Mercedes so we just bought it. Edward thought it would be a great Christmas gift for Jacob.

When we reached the driveway of the house we were greeted by Esme and Jasper. She reported that Renesmee had been crying a couple of times when we left before welcoming Carlisle with a soft kiss. I ran up the stairs to check on her. Like I expected, Jacob was sitting on the computer chair right beside her. He heard me enter and was next to me in one fluid stride. His woodsy pine scent enveloped me with his embrace.

"How did it go?" he asked, examining my expression.

"It went well. Kamielle's really nice," was all I said, heading over to my daughter. She was in her pink and brown polka-dotted pajamas. Edward came in with Carlisle holding two syringes filled with the dark green liquid.

"You call someone nice that poisoned your daughter?" Jacob asked, shaking from his anger, from the doorway.

Edward handed me the other syringe while he readied himself to inject Renesmee. I did the same while I answered, "She didn't mean to harm Renesmee. She didn't even know the full story. All she did was do what she was told to do. Plus, she's a good friend of Carlisle's."

Carlisle gave me a timid smile at the foot of Nessie's bed silently thanking me for defending Kamielle.  
Jake had calmed down after that and Edward gave me the signal to inject her. We counted to 3 and the needle pierced into her pale, sparkly skin. She stiffened for a little bit as the fluid diffused throughout her system. Her heart thrummed faster than usual and then she started to tremble violently. Jacob and Edward held her down until she stopped. After a while her breathing gradually slowed and her heart beat went back to normal.

The rest of our family came in not too long after injecting her. We all watched anxiously, anticipating seeing her sweet, familiar chocolate brown eyes. A full minute passed before they suddenly shot open. She got up slowly, looking all around the room, glazing over the hopeful smiles of our family.

She looked to me and whispered, "Momma?"

I smiled in relief. I sat in bed with her and prompted for her to nestle into me. "Oh, Momma," she whimpered.

"Welcome back, squirt," Emmett said, his hands snaking around Rosalie's waist.

"Yes, welcome back, sweetheart," Edward said getting into bed with us. She was grinning now.

"How long was I out for?" she asked with her bell-like voice. Oh, how I missed hearing that.

Carlisle was the one to answer her question.  
"Over 24 hours."

Her eyes widened. "Wow," was all she managed to say.

"How are you feeling?" Jacob asked. When she heard his voice, she perked up instantly. Jake was sort of hiding behind the door. Why, I didn't know.

"Jakey?" she asked trying to get up. "Errr, Ness, sweetie, we were told that you should stay in bed for another 2 hours. Sorry, hon," I said trying to gently hold her down. She finally stopped fidgeting but pouted with her arms crossed. Jacob walked over to us and placed a kiss on her head.

"S'okay, Ness. Don't worry, I'll be back soon. I gotta go and tell everyone down at the rez that you're okay." With his famous Jacob smile, he left.

Everyone was overjoyed with Nessie's recovery. They all left the room soon after Jake to give us some family time. Esme made her breakfast in bed when in fact it was nearing sundown.

"So the woman that poisoned me was Poppa's friend?" she asked between taking bites of her toast and bacon.

"Yes," her dad answered. He paused and said, "she's not evil," defending our new friend. They were probably having a silent conversation, as they usually did when they were together. I loved how he looked lovingly at her. She was, without a doubt, the best thing that ever happened between Edward and me.

I randomly glanced at her wall clock and noted that her 2 hours in bed was up. She was hesitant to take a step but Edward and I nodded reassuringly. She took a few steps and then started to skip all around the room, occasionally twirling. Looking at her closely now, she seemed to have grown to be 14 and maybe even 15. The poison probably messed with her genes. This didn't matter to me. All I cared about was the fact that my daughter survived and now she was happy and healthy.

We headed downstairs where she was bombarded by Esme and her aunts. They took turns kissing her face and hugging her small figure. Her giggles filled the whole house.

Edward and I wandered off outside. He swept me off my feet and carried me over to the garden where the hammock was hidden not too far away. He laid us both down, with my head resting on his chest. The only thing we heard were the noises from the house and the sounds of the forest. It was audible to hear the animal life getting ready to hunt for their prey. Meanwhile, Edward was tracing my collarbone and my back. Even now, he still sent electricity through his fingers with his ultra-soft touch.

I lifted my head to kiss his chin. He smoldered and easily placed me on top of him. I traced the shape of his perfect lips with my index finger.

"We've had quite a long day," I murmured.

Edward stared at me with a blank expression. I dropped my shield. (What's wrong?)

"I was so scared," he whispered. I rubbed the subtle dark circles around his eyes. We were lying beside each other again. He held me tight with his eyes shut.

" Everyone was scared. Thankfully Kamielle was Carlisle's friend. I think we're going to be great friends," I mentioned while we gently swayed. He smiled a little and then we were quiet.

We stayed like this for most of the night, just silently enjoying each other's presence. I still couldn't get over the fact that Edward was all mine. He was perfect in every way possible. I loved him with every part of me and my existence. My heart swelled every time we touched, kissed, and made love. It was like my heart grew bigger each day I spent with him. I honestly believed that I belong in this life, that right here and right now was my destiny. And I would continue living this fate with him for the rest of my life.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, sorry about that. The site was down for a while and I just couldn't post anything :(  
But don't worry because chapters will be updated a little more than usual now... **

**Renesmee's POV**

Chapter 10: Back to Normal (or so I thought)

It was such a relief to be out of that bed. Being in a coma was not a pleasure. I was completely paralyzed. I cried most of the time because I felt so helpless. I'd feel Gramma's fingers wiping my tears away but the only thing that calmed me down was Jacob. Listening to him breathing and smelling his familiar scent kept me sane. This was probably how my mom felt when she was transforming from human to vampire. Fortunately I was just extremely bored.

After my aunts and Gramma were done smuggling me with their hugs and kisses I played video games with my uncles. I didn't really have anything else to do. We were playing Need for Speed and I was surprised when I came out as first place when Uncle Emmett came out second. It was always hilarious seeing him puff with anger.

"Again," he growled at me. I laughed at his competitiveness. We played for hours on end. We even played some Wii games.

It was probably around 2am when I yawned loudly. You'd think being in a coma for more than 24 hours meant no sleep for a very long time, but not for Renesmee Carlie Cullen. Aunt Rose heard my yawn and came into the living room.

"Come on, baby girl, let's get you to bed," her hand reaching out to me. I was beside her in one fluid movement. I touched her neck.

(Can you brush my hair like you used to when I was little?)

She smiled angelically at me. "Sure thing, sweetie." But before we left, she went to my uncle and whispered something into his ear that I couldn't quite catch. Whatever she said made him smile crookedly and before she returned to my side he slapped her butt.

I woke up the next day actually excited for school. I went downstairs, following the sweet aroma of French toast. I sat on one of the wooden stools on the island counter and dug into my breakfast. Jake came in through the back door and joined me.

"Would you like some breakfast, Jacob?" Gramma asked. He nodded and thanked her.

"Ness, are you sure you're up to going back to school today?" he asked between chewing and pouring more syrup on his stacks of French toast.

I rolled my eyes at him. Placing my hand on his, (Yes, I'm sure, Jake. I want things to be normal again. Plus, I miss Mia.)

Just then my parents walked in, hand in hand. Somehow, someway they were always touching each other.

"About that," my dad said pouring some orange juice for me, "when you were out, she called a couple of times. Alice took her messages."

With that my aunt came skipping in. "Come on, Nessie, let's get you dressed!" she said with her grin growing wider.

She dressed me within 30 minutes so to kill time I spent it with Jacob. We went to the music room. I was almost as good as my father. Teaching Jacob, however, wasn't as easy but it was really entertaining. He would press 3 or 4 keys at once, since his hands were so huge. I played him the lullaby daddy wrote for me, closing my eyes because I knew by heart. The last note rang throughout the room and we were left to stare into each other's eyes. Even with him by my side nearly the whole time I was in coma, I still missed him so much.

I touched his cheek. (Jake, I was so scared. I didn't know if I was going to make it.)

He was wiping the tears away with his thumbs. He was holding my face with his hands now.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," he said. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

I nodded. The way he said that made me really believe him. He was always there for me. No matter what. Sure, back when I was little I thought of him as my older brother but things were totally different now. There was no denying that I felt something else, something stronger, about Jacob. There was no better time for what I had to say to him. He needed to know to how I felt. And if he didn't feel the same way then so be it, as long as I don't have to continue living with thinking 'what if.'

"Jacob, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

I touched his face again and said, (Remember when we went to the beach and I was going to say something to you but my mom called?)

He looked confused as to where I was going with this but he nodded so I continued.

(When you asked me what I was going to say and I said that I forgot, I lied. I was just so scared to tell you…)

"Ness, you don't have to be scared when you're with me. I can keep any secret, you can trust me. Although I don't know if I can do that with your dad but you should know that I'm always here to listen."

I smiled a little. And then I took a deep breath and looked straight into his eyes.

This time I spoke aloud.

"I remember what I was going to tell you." I paused and he urged me to continue and I did.

"Jacob Black, I think I'm falling in love with you," I whispered.

His face was blank and serious. Our gaze never broke but he wasn't saying anything. My dad came in and said that we should be heading out now. His expression looked shocked. He was probably reading Jacob's mind. Whatever he was thinking, I didn't want to hear it. I got up and muttered, "I gotta go."

My parents got into the car and off to my school we went. Thankfully, my dad didn't seem to want to touch the Jacob topic either so instead we were talking about Ms. Hill. They were coming in with me today in hopes of convincing her and her vampire boyfriend, Zachary, to come and have dinner with us tonight. I was astounded but pleased when I received this news. If they were anything like my parents then I had no doubt in my mind that they would be great family friends.

We arrived a little earlier than usual so that we'd talk to Ms. Hill alone. I didn't realize how much I missed her until I opened the classroom door. She was my favorite teacher, hands down. You can tell that she genuinely cared for her students. Every day, after class, she'd tell me to have a great day. One time when I pretended I needed help on an assignment she offered to help me one on one. She was obviously really educated. Her favorite subject was English, too.

"Welcome back, Nessie. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. So tell me, how was your break?" she asked.

I lied and said, "Yeah, my break was pretty good." My mom saved me and added, "Mmhmm. We went to a resort up north."

"Wow, well I'm glad you came back all in one piece," she said with her flawless smile. "So what brings you guys here so early? If you're checking up on Nessie, well you'll be glad to hear nothing but praise for your darling little sister. All her teachers adore her, including me," she added, giving me a wink.

I went over to my seat in the front near the door and my parents followed. We sat in silence for a minute or two before my dad finally started.

"We know you know about us, Leila." She stared at him, baffled.

"I don't know what you mean by that, Edward."

"You're wondering how the first time you saw us our eyes were nearly black, but now they're gold, just like Zachary's."

Her eyes widened. "How do you know all that?"

My mom was the one to answer. "He knows all of that because he can read your mind. We know that you think we're vampires and your guess is right."

Ms. Hill shot up from her chair. "I knew it!" she exclaimed. We all grinned. I was happy to see she was taking this well.

"So if Edward can read minds, do all of the Cullens have some sort of power?"

"Well my dad can read minds, my mom can shield minds, and I can show you my mind," I replied.

She was baffled once again when she inquired, "So Dr. Cullen can read minds, too? And his wife can shield the mind?"

Daddy shook his head and he answered her question. "You see, Leila, it would unusual for us to say that she's our daughter. Carlisle is my father because he was the one who changed me into a vampire. Renesmee is our biological daughter because she was conceived when Bella was still human. When she gave birth, I had to change her in order for her to survive.  
He paused and my mom continued. "Listen, Leila, I know that all of this is overwhelming but we came here wanting to ask if you and Zachary would join us for dinner. We would love to meet him and make sure that you're safe with him."

"Why would I be in danger with Zachary?"

"Well when I was with Bella while she was still human, I tried my hardest not to hurt her. She was very fragile, just like any human is to a vampire. Plus, Nessie loves you too much to see you get hurt," my dad said.

We were all quiet again. Ms. Hill's head creased thoughtfully. After a while she nodded.

"Can you please come over tonight? My grandmother is cooks like an iron chef," I said, smiling angelically so I could persuade her.

"We would all love to introduce you and Zachary to the family. We also need to go over the rules with you, if he hasn't already done so," daddy added.

"Wait, there are rules? Like official vampire rules?"

My mom said, "That was exactly what I asked before," sounding amused. "But yes, there are rules."

Ms. Hill nodded once again and said, "Okay, you've got a deal. Zachary and I will come over tonight."

"Perfect. Nessie will give you our address," my mom said getting up with my father. With that they kissed me goodbye and they left. I was alone with Ms. Hill. There were about 15 more minutes left until the bell would ring for first period.

"So tell me, Ness," Ms. Hill said not too long after my parents' departure," is there some kind of special etiquette for meeting a vampire family? I mean I don't want to make a bad first impression."

I laughed but said, "Just be yourself, Ms. Hill. My family will absolutely love you. Of course you probably know that they won't be eating dinner with you so it'll just be me and you."

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot," she replied smacking her forehead slightly. In a few minutes, my classmates would be coming in. I was getting ready for the day when a question popped into my head.  
She was tentatively reading and writing on the board, with her lesson plan in her other hand.

"Ms. Hill? I asked.

"Yes, Nessie?"

"If you were given the opportunity, would you choose to be a vampire, too?"

It took her a while to actually answer my question.  
"I honestly don't know. But after tonight, we'll see what happens."

Just then, the bell rang and dozens of kids began pouring in.

My classes went by fast. The only downside was the fact that I only spent about an hour with Mia. She had to leave early for a doctor's appointment.

When I was finally let out, I was surprised not to see my parents waiting for me. Instead it was Jacob with his Rabbit. Some kids stopped at the sight of him. His face was serious and with his arms crossed, he actually looked kind of scary. The second he caught sight of me his expression changed into my favorite Jacob-ey smile. My face was the complete opposite.

My face was the opposite. I didn't want to see Jacob right now, not after the incident in the morning. I could've easily ran home but I was scared I would attract attention. No, I thought to myself. I would face Jacob right now. If he didn't feel the same way then I don't care. I would forget my feelings and just be friends with him. I'd be okay with that.

Before I got a chance to say something, he interrupted me with a hug. I hugged him back after a while, thankful there wasn't an awkward vibe.

"Ness, I think we need to have a talk," he said, holding my shoulders. I nodded.

I got into the passenger seat and we drove off. We reached the beach and we sat on the bench-like log.

I waited for him to start. I'd done enough talking for the day. It was his turn to do some explaining.

"Your parents and I discussed this a few months back and I talked to your dad again today after they dropped you off and he said it was safe to tell you about imprinting."

"Imprinting?" I asked, my face crunched up in confusion.

"Yeah. It's a wolf thing. So I guess I'll start with examples." He paused, thinking and staring at the water but then he continued. "Do you notice how Claire and Quil are? How he's always with her and how he always brings her to the bonfires or whenever there's a meeting?"

I nodded and he spoke again.

"And it's not just them. It's also Sam and Emily, Leah and Shaun, and Paul and Denise. They're always with each other, almost inseparable like you and me. The thing with imprinting is that once a werewolf see's that one other person, the one that they're completely drawn to, they can't leave them alone. It doesn't necessarily involve romance but mainly friendship. For Quil and Claire especially, he's strictly her friend. She's too young to understand what he really is to her. But Quil loves her too much to choose what he'll actually be to her. It's all up to Claire to decide when he can be her friend, an older brother and possibly someone more. But for Paul and Sam, they're completely in love with their significant others. Imprinting for us, is a way to find our ideal soul mates so that we can continue passing on our genes. And when you were born and I first laid my eyes on you, I imprinted on you." He gulped but became quiet. He looked to me to examine my expression.

"So from what you're telling me, I'm drawn to you only because you've imprinted on me?" I asked slowly.

He hesitantly nodded. I looked away from him and stared at the waves. The horizon was preparing to change. I thought about everything. I thought about how over the years, the feelings changed. I thought about how Leah and Shaun always looked deep into each other's eyes. It was obvious they were so in love. As for Paul and Denise, he was always overprotective of her, almost like how Jacob was to me. She absolutely loved him. They would often separate from the group and just hold hands and whisper sweet nothings into each other's ear. They were almost as affectionate as Sam and Emily and they were already married!

After a while I started to smile. I finally realized what Jake was actually telling me. I didn't care that we were attracted to each other just because of some wolf thing. He liked me back and that was all that mattered.

I turned to him and kissed his cheek. He was surprised and he asked, "What was that for?"

I shook my head and said, "Just because."

He smiled back and stood up, pulling me into a warm hug. "So you know how I feel for you, too, right?" I touched his face and said (Yeah, but I want to hear you say it.)

He chuckled and said, "I think I'm falling in love with you, too."

I frowned and asked, "you think you're falling in love with me?"

He chuckled again and said, "No, I know I love you. I've known for a long time now but I wanted for you to say it first and when you did tell me earlier this morning I was just shocked."

He still held me in his arms when he added, "But you have to know that your parents don't want us to be in a relationship yet. They want to wait until you're at least a sophomore, like the original plan."

I pouted. I can't believe that the guy of my dreams totally just said that he loved me back but I couldn't actually BE with him just because my parents say so.

"I know, I know, but Ness, I'm willing to wait that long. I'm just glad that you finally told me you felt the same way."

I smiled and reluctantly said, "Fine, I guess I can wait, too."

It was getting dark now and we walked back to his car. He drove me home and when I entered the house, I was welcomed by Gramma and my parents. There was something off about the house but it was obvious that Aunt Alice made it more presentable. Every room had a vase or two filled with several flowers.

I was walking up the stairs to my room when I noticed my parents following me.

I turned around and asked, "Can I help you?"

My mom smiled while my dad looked slightly angry. "How did it go with Jacob?" she asked.

"Okay, I guess." I thought over my afternoon with Jake and I guessed my dad was following along because when memory lane ended he looked relieved.

"Ness, we want you to know that you're still allowed to see Jacob but he can't be your boyfriend just yet," was what daddy said.

"Yeah, I know. That's fine with me because all I care about is that fact that he feels the same way."

My mom came over and kissed me forehead. "You're growing up so fast, Ness. I'm glad you're being mature about this. You have to understand that we're only doing this because we can't bear to lose you to Jacob so soon." She had me tight against her chest and my dad came over and hugged the two of us.

They let go and I said, "you know that I'll always be your little girl." They nodded and smiled.

"Okay, now come on, Ms. Hill will be here any minute."

As we ascended down the stairs, we heard a car driving up on our driveway. My grandparents, aunts and uncles, as well as my parents positioned themselves along the wall to the main entrance of the house. The car door opened and shut and footsteps were nearing the steps to the door. It was odd not hearing another pair of feet following them.

Just then the doorbell rang and Poppa opened the door. I was sad to see Ms. Hill alone. She was wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt. Her face was pink and a little swollen from what was apparently crying. I looked to my dad for answers.

Ms. Hill was still outside when my dad announced: "Zachary left her…and she's carrying his child."


	11. Chapter 11

**RENESMEE'S POV **

****Chapter 11: The Unthinkable  
We ushered here in immediately. All of the females surrounded her, trying to comfort her. She wasn't crying as much and I could only guess that it was Uncle Jasper's doing.

"Tell us what happened," Aunt Rose urged sympathetically, rubbing Ms. Hill's shoulders. We were all seated at the dining room table.

"He said he didn't want me anymore. He said he loved me but it turned out he was just bored when he found me and couldn't resist. Now, I was no use to him," she said covering her face.

I hated Zachary for doing this to Ms. Hill. One day, he'd pay for what he'd done to her. It seemed like Aunt Rose read my mind when she suddenly declared, "Zachary won't get away with this. If he ever comes back, we'll rip him apart and burn him to hell."

Ms. Hill finally looked up from her hands and said, "I don't want him to see my baby."

I'd never seen her so mad before. Poppa nodded and added, "Don't worry, Leila, we won't let any harm come your way. We suggest that you stay here with us so that we can monitor your progress."

She was quiet while she thought over the offer. "Okay, I'll stay," she finally said.

"Good. We should also let you know that this pregnancy is very different. The fetus will grow quite rapidly and instead of carrying it for 9 months, you'll most likely do so for about 1 month" my dad said.

"Okay," she replied and continued with a question, "will my baby be like Renesmee?"

"Yes, it will be half vampire and half human."

Daddy also answered her silent question. "We won't know if your baby has powers until he or she is born and something out of the ordinary happens."

I was quiet the whole time. I was too stunned and hurt to see that someone as wonderful as Ms. Hill was taken advantage of like this. I did wonder, however, if she wished to be turned, just how my mom did when I was born. My dad flinched and my mom noticed.

"What's wrong, Edward?" Momma asked. My father was apprehensive as to whether or not he should actually ask my teacher my question but he did anyway.

"Nessie's asking if you wish to be turned, just like Bella had done after giving birth."

Her expression was disturbed when she replied, "I don't want to become like you."

My face dropped when she said this. She quickly explained herself. "I mean I don't want to be the same monster as Zachary. Just like I said earlier, I don' want him to see my child or me for that matter."

"In that case, you should know that the baby you're carrying will literally rip you apart. Trust me, I should know," my mom said.

"I understand," was Ms. Hill's response.

Even without Zachary coming, we still ate dinner. Ms. Hill was a lot calmer now. She was at the house for just about 4 hours but her stomach grew in just that short time. Maybe she didn't have to wait for a month after all. As I thought of this, it became clear that in that same time she would die. She had left with Aunt Rosalie to pack some of her belongings since she would be living here for the time being. She lived by herself; her parents lived in Chicago and her siblings lead their own lives with their families. We had a guest room right next to the music room. Gramma was busy tidying it up for Ms. Hill. I offered to help.

"Sure, sweetheart," my grandmother said. "Here, you can change the bed sheets and put these lilac pillow cases. After you've done that, puff them like this," she instructed me.

In about an hour, Uncle Emmett had come in, carrying Ms. Hill with Aunt Rosalie carrying her luggage. I panicked and dashed straight to my uncle.

"What happened? Is she hurt? What do we do?" I asked at super vampire speed.

"Relax," Aunt Rosalie said putting her things away while my uncle placed her gently in the center of the bed. "She fell asleep on the ride back. I didn't want to wake her so we carried her in. She's gone through so much in one day," Aunt Rose added shaking her head slightly in dismay. She tucked Ms. Hill in and we quietly left the room.

**2 WEEKS LATER**  
A couple weeks past and Ms. Hill's stomach grew significantly. It if were a normal pregnancy, it would've been her 8th month because that's how big she looked. I was getting worried and I wasn't the only one.

"The baby is growing at such a fast pace. With Renesmee it was only about the beginning of the 4th week when Bella looked like this," Poppa said shaking his head in disbelief.

Ms. Hill was sleeping soundly in the recliner in the living room with Aunt Rose seated crossed legged at the foot. She'd been at her side since Daddy announced she was pregnant. Momma told me Aunt Rose was the same when she was pregnant with me.

"Do you think the fetus is in danger, Carlisle? Or maybe there's some other complication?" Aunt Rose asked gently rubbing the growing bump.

"I can't really say," Poppa replied, "like with Renesmee, I can't properly monitor the fetus. Getting an ultrasound would be no use; we won't be able to see anything."

I was sitting cross legged, too, on the other side of the recliner with both hands on my chin. My brow creased in worry. I knew how everyone felt now when I was in my mom's stomach. I was literally tearing her apart. It's no different now with Ms. Hill's baby. I knew that even in this stage, the fetus could hear what's going on, because I knew I did. I hope that if we ask for it to not move around as much so that it wouldn't hurt her, it would obey. Just then, Ms. Hill suddenly sat up from the recliner. Her expression was full of pain and then there was crack. She gasped loudly and then began crying.

Aunt Rose and I surrounded her. "Leila!" she exclaimed.  
Daddy carried her upstairs to Poppa's office. Her breathing sped.

"Her spine cracked slightly. I'm going to give her some morphine to ease the pain and heal the fracture," Poppa said. He injected her and her breathing gradually went back to normal. Momma came in with Uncle Jasper.

"Jazz, help her, please." He nodded and Ms. Hill smiled.

"This was what? The 6th time this little kicker broke my spine?" None of us responded. This was also why we were worried so much. This happened more than enough times over a course of a few days. This baby was a lot stronger than I ever was.

After about an hour, Ms. Hill was back downstairs. She and Aunt Rose were watching Full House on DVD. It was Ms. Hill's favorite show. My aunt was feeding her lasagna. As I was watching them from the dining room table, eating some dinner myself, an idea popped into my head. Before I got a chance to say what was on my mind, daddy had already gotten the blood out of the refrigerator. He poured it in a red plastic party cup and placed a white straw into it.

"Love, I think you should be the one to do it." My mom nodded. We both walked over to the living room. Ms. Hill was so worn out. There were dark circles under her eyes and even with us feeding her nearly every 2-3 hours, she still looked malnourished. The smell of the blood diverted her attention from Danny Tanner and Uncle Jesse. Her eyes we so full of hunger.

"Leila, I think it's time we did something different," my mom started. "This may seem repulsive to you but it'll help keep the baby healthy and make you feel so much better."

She replied with a quick nod and eagerly reached out for the cup of blood. She took one sip and in 15 seconds it was gone. Her condition improved dramatically. She had so much energy now but just to be safe we still had her in the recliner. Uncle Jasper came in with my aunt. He was absolutely beaming from the happy aura Ms. Hill was emanating. I guess the baby was happy, too. Everyone gathered toward the white leather couches. Daddy came over and placed me on his lap with Momma on his side.

"Leila, you're glowing with joy," Gramma said with utmost affection in her voice. Ms. Hill thanked her with her flawless smile. Even with this tough pregnancy, she was still really beautiful.

"I'm glad all of you are here," Ms. Hill said finishing her second cup of blood. I felt daddy move slightly and I looked to see him smiling towards Uncle Emmett and Aunt Rosalie.

"Originally, I wanted the baby to go to Edward and Bella because they were the ones experienced in raising a hybrid, but I've done some thinking and I'm confident in giving my baby to Rose and Em instead."

If my aunt could cry, she could've filled a million rivers. Uncle Emmett looked a bit emotional, too, because Uncle Jasper had to calm him down as well.

"Leila," Aunt Rose whispered, "you have no idea how much this means to us."

Tears were streaming down Ms. Hill's tantalizing gray eyes.

"I know that my baby will be better off with this family. He or she would be so loved."

She turned to my parents and I and said, "No offense, you two, but Rose did tell me her story and how much she wanted to adopt."

Momma shook her head. "Edward and I are perfectly happy with our little nudger," she said kissing my nose. I smiled and nodded.

"I'll still treat your baby like he or she is my little sibling," I added.

"Thank you," Ms. Hill replied.

"So what are you going to name the baby if it's a girl?" Gramma asked her.

"Well that's completely up to Rose and Emmett now," she answered, looking to my aunt and uncle cuddling on the love seat.

"If it's a girl," Aunt Rose said, "we'll name her Emmie; a combination of my name and Emmett's."

"That's perfect," Ms. Hill said.

Uncle Jasper asked, "And if it's a boy?"

"I got it!" Uncle Emmett exclaimed. "Emmett Junior."

I snorted. "Really?"

At that same time, Aunt Rose poked him in the ribs. "Babe, that's not what we talked about," she scolded him. "If it's a boy, then he'll be Rommel, another combination of our names."

I grinned. "Much better and WAY more clever than Emmett Junior.

We all laughed. A minute later, Ms. Hill winced. "The baby's kicking an awful lot."

Aunt Alice got up to get another cup of blood but her gaze altered and she collapsed back down. It was clear she was having a vision.

"Alice, what do you see?" Poppa asked. I looked to daddy for an answer in his expression, whether it was good or bad. His face was just as bewildered as Aunt Alice's. She was back in the present a few seconds later. She and Daddy were totally speechless.

"It looks like you'll need both of those names," she said slowly.

Everyone, besides daddy and Aunt Alice, was utterly confused. It took me a full 2 minutes to decipher her vision. I shot up from my dad's lap and I jumped up and down in thrill.

"Ms. Hill is having twins! Baby Emmie and Baby Rommel! TWINS!" I proclaimed.

Gramma had her hand on her heart. Uncle Emmett was completely frozen on his seat. Poppa congratulated my aunt and my teacher.

"Wait," Momma said, confused beside daddy. "Alice, how on Earth did you see that? Your power is based on the decisions people make."

My aunt shrugged and said, "well apparently SOMEONE decided."

To further support her premonition, daddy said, "she's right. I can hear their thoughts now." He paused but continued, "I think it's Emmie asking for more blood."

This time Aunt Alice was successful at retrieving some blood.

"No wonder my spine keeps getting damaged," Ms. Hill said sipping her cup of blood happily.

Poppa was pacing. "This makes a lot more sense now. Your stomach grew significantly these past weeks because you're carrying twins. A lot more sense." My grandfather was talking to himself now.

"This means the babies will be coming a lot sooner than anticipated," daddy said looking to Ms. Hill. I was ecstatic that I was going to have 2 younger siblings that I had completely forgotten that it also meant Ms. Hill was just going to be in more pain and eventually she'll be gone.  
This finally sunk in and the atmosphere immediately shifted from excitement to sullen. And to think that in a couple of days it'll be a new year.

"I'm willing to make that sacrifice," Ms. Hill said breaking the silence. "Em and Rose deserve to have their wish granted and my babies would be neglected if they went to Zachary. This is my fate and I'm accepting it."

Poppa nodded and patted her stomach. "We'll do everything we can to make this a lot easier for you."

I walked over to the recliner and did the same. "Yeah, and you two need to go easy on your mommy here. Don't kick too much, okay?" Ms. Hill smiled weakly and then her eyes fluttered shut. The next thing I knew she was snoring softly.

The next couple of days zoomed by. Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett didn't leave Ms. Hill's side. This was because she grew weaker and weaker by the hour. I had a feeling that we were going to ring in the New Year with 2 new Cullen members.

We were prepared. Ms. Hill was in the hospital bed located in Poppa's office. She was attached to an IV that dripped morphine. We even gave her some sleep medicine so that she wouldn't feel the pain so much either.

Gramma and Aunt Alice went straight to work on the guest room, which was Ms. Hill's room, for the twins. It was big enough to add a king size bed for Rommel and the queen sized bed would be Emmie's.

I was so preoccupied with all the baby commotion that when Jacob came by to visit I totally forgot that not too long ago we said we loved each other. It took all of my strength NOT to run to him and kiss him.

Instead of running over here, he had taken his new Black Mercedes Guardian that was given to him on Christmas from my parents.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" I asked after our hug.

"I just wanted to drop by and congratulate the parents-to- be. And…to give you this," he replied, jiggling a charm bracelet with hearts, stars, a crescent moon, and a wooden wolf.

I gasped and took it out of his hand. He smirked and his hands snaked around my waist, bringing me closer to him I was mesmerized. The hearts and stars were carved from opal and pink tourmaline. The moon was quartz but my favorite was the wooden wolf. When I was done looking at it, he secured it around my left wrist and it fit perfectly. I smiled and coiled my hands around his neck. We stared into each other's eyes nearly all night.

"Sorry we couldn't spend Christmas together," I said he turned me around so that he was hugging me from behind.

"S'okay, babe, I know that things have been a little chaotic lately," he said with his chin resting on the top of my head.

I laughed a little and said, "got that right. It's so exciting that Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett are finally going to have kids of their own even if they're adopted. But I'm going to really miss Ms. Hill."

He hugged me tighter but it was too late for the tears.

"If only she'd agree to being changed..." I whispered.

To lighten up the mood, Jacob said, "not everyone wants to be a bloodsucker, Ness."

I escaped from his hold but not without nudging him in his ribs. I wiped my tears away and crossed my arms. My eyes were fixed on the starry New Year's Eve night.

"Ness, you know that I didn't mean that. I was just trying to cheer you up."

I reluctantly sighed and went back to his open arms. (I know you didn't. It's just hard to let her go because she's my favorite person.)  
He looked offended that it was hilarious.

"I thought I was your favorite person," he whined with a pout.

"Mia will ALWAYS be my best friend and Ms. Hill will always be my favorite person. Now you...you'll always be mine and I'll always be yours."

"Okay, fine, I'll settle for that."

I chuckled at his silliness. We stayed quiet, enjoying each other's company, for a good portion of the night. He fidgeted after a while to check his cellphone.

"Expecting a call? I asked playfully with an eyebrow shooting up.

"No, not really. Just checking the time."

"What for? Does Sam need—"

Before I could finish my question, his hands found my waist bringing me closer to him. In 2 seconds, our lips touched and I found my fingers tangled in his hair. This kiss was totally unexpected and a complete surprise but I wouldn't have it any other way. Being this close to him was so different than what I had thought. His lips were ultra-smooth and they fit mine perfectly, like they were made to match mine exactly. TV shows and movies say that when you have your first kiss, sparks fly and they erupt into fireworks. I guess it was only appropriate due to the New Year. His lips were an explosion of bliss and ultimate pleasure. His familiar woodsy scent was stronger like this and it was like a drug. As we kissed, I realized that I couldn't go on another day without my Jacob; I needed a daily dose of this much potency. He broke the kiss all too soon but we needed more oxygen. Once our breathing caught up, he leaned forward again but to only give me a soft, gentle peck.

I frowned, wanting more, but he said, "I really want to continue this but your dad only allowed me the 3 minutes."

"Wait, what 3 minutes?" I asked confused. I swore it was longer than that...

"I was checking the time because I wanted to kiss you at exactly from 11:59 to 12:01. That way, we ended the year together and entered a new one together."

"Wow," was all I managed to say. "Pretty cheesy, but hey I'll take it."

He smirked, leaning along the railing of the back patio.

"Unfortunately, my time is up, officially now, because I gotta patrol. But don't worry, I'll come back as soon as I get some sleepy after my duties."

"Fine," I said. "But first you gotta kiss me goodbye."

"Don't have to tell me twice, babe."

I tippy-toed so that my lips could reach his and then he left.

It had been about 5 minutes after his departure when a painful, piercing scream came from Poppa's office. Before I got a chance to take the first step of the stairs, Aunt Alice stopped me.

"Aunt Alice, I have to see Ms. Hill! I said, panicking.

"I know but you can't, sweetie. I'm sorry. Your father asked for me to keep you here. We weren't sure the babies were coming this early. She was due next week!"

I plopped onto the leather loveseat with my hands in my face. Ms. Hill was dying and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. I faintly heard the murmurs upstairs. Ms. Hill's weak heartbeat was drowning out everything else. And then the sound I dreaded to hear became audible. The heartbeat of someone I truly cared about, halted.


	12. Chapter 12

**Renesmee's POV**

Chapter 12: Gifted  
Two rapid heartbeats replaced my teacher's. It turned out that her heart was minutely beauting.

"Where's…where's Renesmee?" I heard her ask weakly.

This time my aunt didn't stop me. I went into the room hesitantly with tears already streaming down my face. Momma and Poppa were busy handling the twins with Aunt Rosalie while daddy and Uncle Emmett were attending to Ms. Hill.

"Ness," she said reaching out for me. My uncle had covered her up already.

"Look at for them, okay?" she breathed before permanently closing her eyes.

"I will," I whispered back a little too late. My dad covered her up thoroughly. He took me into his arms and I let my sorrow flow out of me. She didn't deserve this. Zachary should be the one dead. The only thing that I could do now was to keep my promise: watch out for my cousins and for them to never see their biological father.

"It's okay, baby girl. Leila's in a better place now," daddy advocated gently. "Now go on and meet Rommel and Emmie."

I nodded and wiped my tears away. I'd have to put a brave front now, for my beloved teacher and family. It wasn't hard to do, thankfully, because as I turned around to head downstairs to approach Aunt Rose and Uncle Emmett, they were glowing with pure mirthfulness. I couldn't help but gravitate towards their radiating happiness.

"Hey squirt," Uncle Emmett called to me while cradling one of the twins. Everyone had gathered around the living room.

"Come and meet Emmie," he said.

"And Rommel," Aunt Rose added.

I let out the biggest grin when I saw two pairs of those familiar tantalizing gray eyes. Maybe Ms. Hill wasn't completely gone after all. I was handed baby Rommel first and then baby Emmie. Aunt Alice took lots and lots of pictures. As I held them in my arms, Rommel drifted to sleep while Emmie looked to me confusingly. Within those 4 short hours, they grew just subtly. I kissed Emmie's cute, little nose before Uncle Emmett took her to their room where Rommel was already with my aunt. Even with the early labor, the room was done in no time. Baby blue checkered sheets covered Rommel's bed while light pink flowered sheets covered Emmie's.

I yawned involuntarily and Momma was beside me in an instant. She smiled her dazzling smile and stroked my cheek.

"Why don't you sleep at the cottage for a while?" she asked while everyone else began to disperse throughout the house.

"You haven't slept thee for ages and change is good for a new year."

I smiled right back and touched her neck. (Can we go hunting tomorrow before we come back here?)

"We can all go," daddy said appearing from upstairs.

"But for now, you should get some rest. You've had quite a night," he added, gesturing to my bracelet. I hid my hands behind my back, bit my lip while the blood rushed to my cheeks.

My mom chuckled. I dashed out of the main entrance before they could say anything else on the matter.

Rommel and Emmie grew quickly. They were twins, all right. The only thing they didn't share was the shade of their hair; Rommel had the exact color as Ms. Hill's while Emmie's had a sandier tone. Like their biological mother, they, too, were absolutely gorgeous.  
I came in through the kitchen door surprised to see a 4-month-old looking Rommel crawling on the floor with only his underwear on. I flitted to him and picked him up in one swift movement.

"Good morning, baby boy," I greeted him, kissing both of his cheeks. His giggle rang throughout the house.

"There you are, you naughty little rugrat!" Aunt Alice chimed, flailing a striped dark and light blue onesie. Now I know why he was crawling away. My petite, little aunt had been playing dress with the twins practically ever since they were born. Of course, Emmie didn't mind as much but Rommel avoided it when he could.

"Now c'mere, mister, your momma wants to take more pictures of you and your sister," she urged enthusiastically, clapping her hands as to show him she was harmless.

I was still carrying him when his face scrunched up in concentration. At the same time, the striped onesie flew out of Aunt Alice's grasp and it stayed there in midair. Our eyes widened in astonishment.

"Carlisle!" she called. Everyone must've heard the urgency in her voice because in seconds, they came filing into our wide kitchen.

"What happened, Alice?" Poppa asked.

Rommel started waving his arm like a music conductor and his piece of clothing swayed in the same motion, still hanging midair.  
"Looks like this little rascal's got a power after all," Uncle Jasper said crossing his am in approval.

"But when Nessie was born, her gift showed right away," Aunt Rose said carrying a giggly Emmie. She looked too adorable with her dark and light pink onesie.

"Heck yeah! My son's got a gift! This is the coolest one I've seen so far!" Uncle Emmett exclaimed making funny faces at Rommel before I brought him his son.

"Hmmm," Poppa hummed while pacing the tiled floor. "If Rommel has a gift, Emmie should very well have one, too."

"That's an interesting theory, Carlisle," daddy said reaching out for Emmie who willingly welcomed his open arms.

"What theory?" Aunt Alice asked. I took a seat on one of the stools from the island counter, knowing that things were turning in an exciting direction.

"Well Carlisle thinks that their powers work similarly like Jane and Alec," daddy answered, completely intrigued. "She may have the ability to do the opposite of her brother."

"So if my son has the ability to move and control objects," Aunt Rose said carefully, piecing things together. "Then Emmie can stop movement?" Uncle Emmett finished.

"We should test it," I offered, swinging my legs back and forth. Daddy nodded, placing baby Emmie on the counter while my uncle placed baby Rommel right next to her.

"Rommel, do you think you can try and move something again?"

Even with the twins being a week old, they understood better than any 4 year old can possibly could. Again, his cute little face scrunched up in concentration. In a second, one of the cabinet doors flew open and the chocolate chip cookie jar began floating towards him. He opened it with his mind and out came 2 cookies. He gave the other one to his baby sister. They both giggled and so did we. They chewed it happily while their parents applauded proudly.

"Okay, Emmie," Momma prompted, "now it's your turn. Why don't you try and stop the clock?"

She obeyed and the clock's hand stopped. This proved Poppa's theory.

Uncle Emmett picked them both up and said, "You two are incredible."

"They are, indeed," Gramma agreed. "All of my grand babies are," she added kissing all of our cheeks.

Poppa said, "Just like Jane and Alec. While Jane can nearly make anyone feel the most excruciating pain, Alec can numb the senses altogether, their powers completely opposite of each other. The same goes for all immortal twins, I suppose."

"Of course, over time their gifts should become more powerful. Who knows, they'll probably be able to control our movements one day," Uncle Jasper observed.

"Well in that case," Momma joined in, "We'll teach them to use it for good."

The twins were clinging onto their father tightly when Emmie exclaimed, "Good! Good!"

I smiled. Like me, as they grew, their knowledge did as well. In no time, they would start walking and talking. It'll take a while for them to start school, unfortunately. It's a good thing they had each other to play with; they wouldn't get bored.  
You'd think that I would get jealous with all the attention they were getting but on the contrary, I was relieved. Having them here made our family more complete. I didn't feel as alone now. It was sort of even nice knowing that I had responsibilities and obligations now, too. I'm still furiously maddened at the fact that Zachary was still out there, somewhere, repeating the same misfortune onto a beautiful woman like Ms. Hill. One day I would avenge her.

I randomly wandered off to the backyard. I stopped in front of a tombstone that said: Leila Hill. You'll be forever missed.  
I got down to my knees and caressed the newly growing grass. It was February now, a full month to the day we discovered Rommel and Emmie's power. I heard them playing in the forest nearby. Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper were on babysitting duty while my other aunt and uncle went out the whole day to have some time for themselves.

I wasn't aware of the tears escaping from my eyes until Emmie wiped them away. She looked like a small 5 year old. Her dark blonde hair was well past her shoulders now. Rommel appeared beside her out of thin air.

"C'mon! We're supposed to be hiding from Uncle Jazz!" he stopped mid jog and I can only guess it was his sister's doing. Emmie's gift evolved quite quickly. Not only can she completely freeze anyone on their tracks but she can even halt their power, or maybe just her brother's. They narrowed their eyes at each other. They fought constantly but loved each other dearly.

"Quit fighting, you two," I scolded them. I was getting used to playing the role of the big sister. The only downside was the fact that Mia couldn't come by as much as before. She would notice that every day she came by the twins would look just a little bit older.

They obeyed and sat on each of my sides. They sat Native American style. We were all silent now. They stared sympathetically at the ground. They knew very well whom this tombstone belonged to.

After a while they got up, but I didn't.

"Ness, c'mon, you visit our mom more than we do," Rommel said jokingly with his hand resting on my shoulder.

I chuckled lightly and wiped the rest of my tears away. As I got up, Emmie said: " Race ya to the front, big bro," wiggling her eyebrows. In a flash, I was alone in the backyard. Their sibling rivalry was hilarious.

The sun was about to set and I made my way to the back porch swing on our patio. Right when I sat down, Jacob emerged from the trees. He started jogging over and I met him halfway. He held his arms out and I leapt into them effortlessly. He spun me around and our lips crushed amorously before he gently placed me back down.

His arms were tightly secured around my waist.

"Hello to you, too, babe," he said with a mischievous wink. I giggled and tippy toed to give him one more kiss. I started to pull him towards the porch swing.

"Watch the sunset with me," I said.

"Why don't we go over to our bench at the beach?"

"That's perfect! Let's go." And with that we ran to First Beach.

This sunset stood out of all the rest. Maybe because it was the first one I spent with Jacob knowing that he loved me, possibly even more than I loved him. I leaned against his well-toned chest, enjoying this feeling. I looked up and brushed my lips along his jugular. He got up and offered his hand. I took it willingly and we walked along the shore, hand in hand. He occasionally took it and held it up to his lips and I smiled wider every time he did. It would be a few more minutes, now, before the sun would completely vanish. We stopped at one time and we stayed there, getting lost in each other's eyes like we usually did. Our hands were still tangled together and I took advantage of that.

(I love you.) I placed in his head. He smiled my favorite smile, moving his hands to my waist, pulling me closer.

"As I love you," he replied before giving me the sweetest kiss.

It was getting darker now and that meant it was time for me to go home.

"I think we should be heading back," I said, speaking my thoughts. He sighed but nodded knowingly.

We were less than a mile away from the house when Jacob asked, "what are you doing for Valentine's Day?"

"Oh, well Daddy's going to surprise Momma with a trip to Isle Esme," I answered.

"You going with them?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a family/romantic trip. I know what you're thinking and trust me, I'm gonna be staying far away from their bedroom."

"When are you leaving?"

"The 7th. Daddy wants to stay there a full week."

"One full week?" he asked, frowning.

"I know, I know," I said, patting his cheek.

"I had plans for us, too, he added with a pout.

We were walking on the driveway now and daddy came out to greet us.

"Jacob, I know you had plans with Nessie for Valentine's Day and I'm sorry we're going to take her away from you, but you and I both know that Bella would never leave the country without her. So how about we make a compromise?"

Jake looked at me father suspiciously but gave in to his curiosity.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well we're planning to have another vacation at Lake Crescent soon. You can come along this time, as our pet," daddy offered playfully.

Jake wasn't offended. In fact, he even punched my dad on the shoulder, playing along. It made me happy seeing them getting along this well.

"You got a deal," he replied. "But I gotta warn you, I might chew up the furniture." We all laughed at that and then he kissed my cheek goodbye.

Daddy and I entered the house to find Rommel and Uncle Jasper playing Just Dance on the Wii. From the looks at their dancing, Aunt Alice and Emmie were winning by a long shot.

Daddy planted a kiss on my forehead before he left to find my mom. I was just fine where I was, watching the boys dance.


	13. Chapter 13

**Edward's POV**

Chapter 13: Upcoming

I kissed my daughter's forehead, smelling her sweet apple scent, and caught Alice's glance.

(Everything's all set, Edward. Tonight's going to be FUN!) she said in her head, her tone full of excitement.

It was her idea after all to take Bella on a half honeymoon. The other half would be family time. I liked the idea of Nessie going out and exploring the world. Carlisle and I, as well as my other siblings, knew all too well that soon we'd have to do some exploring of the world ourselves if we don't want to attract attention. We've been in Forks for a good amount of time now. I pushed these thoughts elsewhere for the meantime because I finally found what I'd been looking for.

I was upstairs now, Katy Perry's Hot N' Cold still audible from below, when I followed Bella's intoxicating scent.

I found her in Renesmee's room, lying on her stomach with her legs crossing and uncrossing again and again while reading Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn. She very well knew that I was watching her but she didn't acknowledge my presence and I was fine with that. I was infatuated with my wife and always will. By this day, I still couldn't fathom the fact that she was mine.

Before I met her, I was incomplete. No, I was as lifeless and miserable as the bottom of the ocean filled with complete and utter darkness and nothingness. It was when I met Bella when I realized she was the reason for my existence. She was the light that brought me up from the deepest depths of my unrequited depression. Now she was mine forever.

I heard her book shut and then hands were snaking my waist. I looked down and stared into amber eyes, wishing they were milk chocolate again. I kissed her with such urgency, which could've harmed her if she were still human. She reacted enthused and started pulling us in the direction of the bed.

I stopped her knowing that Nessie would never forgive is if we made love on her very own bed. It was technically mine to begin with but I don't sleep.

"Love, it's not our room," I breathed, lightly amused.

"Oh yeah, I guess I got too carried away," she replied half sheepishly.

Her hand clasped my neck and the kisses started again. Her shield dropped, as it usually did when we kissed so that she can communicate with me conveniently, and said: (Let's go to the cottage.)

I couldn't refuse, even if I had plans for us for the evening. All the adults were to have a night out, just by ourselves, and again it was all Alice's planning. She thought dancing would be the perfect setting to tell her about the surprise honeymoon at Isle Esme for the week leading to Valentine's Day. While we were out, the children would stay home, under the watchful eyes of Paul, Denise, and Jacob.

It was an impulse decision to use Renesmee's balcony as an exit. We leapt, hand in hand, and landed smoothly on the ground, feeling the pressure of our fall on the balls of our feet. Dashing through the forest, we were at our cottage in no time. We slipped into our bedroom like ghosts and our night began routinely. There was simply not an ample amount of time in the day to quench our lust for one another.

3 hours past and we were still gracefully entangled together when there was a sharp knock on the window. It was Alice. I got up in a flash, threw some clothes on and opened the window. Bella frowned and covered up. Alice took one jump and the next thing I knew she hit me on the back of my head. She narrowed her eyes at me and from the sound of her thoughts she was absolutely furious. As always, I couldn't help but be amused with her angry nonsense.

(EDWARD! I was supposed to be dressing Bella an hour ago! Don't you want her to be positively gorgeous?) she screamed in her head as I led her to the living room so that Bella can change.

"My wife is already magnificently beautiful, little sis," I remarked.

"That may be true, but you and I both know she needs my expertise when it comes to fashion."

"Well you know how oblivious we get when we're together."

"Geez, Edward. You two are even crazier in love than Rosalie and Emmett sometimes."

I smirked in response while Bella returned to my side.

"So what's up, Alice?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Just come with me and let's get you dressed!"

"Dressed? Dressed for what?" Bella asked, her eyes going back and forth between Alice and I.

"We're going out for some ballroom dancing! All of us!" Alice exclaimed eagerly.

Bella's gaze shifted to me. She wore a mask of a skeptic.

"You'll see what I'm up to later," I responded cunningly. "But for now, I'm going to hunt with Carlisle and the guys. We'll see you ladies in about an hour."

Before I left, I kissed both my wife and sister on the forehead. I ran deeper into the open forest and it wasn't long until I heard Carlisle and my brothers following my lead to our prey.

It was pretty late in the night and we were still dancing. I vaguely saw Emmett and Rosalie twirling around us. I could still hear the disturbing thoughts of the men who stopped dancing with their partners to gawk at my wife, my sisters and my mother. As long as Bella and I were together, I could completely forget anything and everything. Every now and then, I would have to secretly chastise myself for displaying my fervent affection towards Bella. She was just so hauntingly perfect. Seeing her in this deep blue sequined backless long gown was drugging me. I was so intoxicated by her that I nearly forgot my reason for this night.

With my hands secured around her waist, I started leading her to the balcony. For a second time, I caught Alice's glance, as well as Carlisle's, and they smiled in encouragement. They were all in on this surprise.

We were up in the 23rd floor of the Westin Hotel so once we were outside, you could get a little more than a glimpse of all Seattle's nightlife, especially with our 20/20 vampire vision. We were holding hands now, as we were approaching the ornately patterned banister. This night was cloudless, which was out of the norm for any state belonging to the Pacific Northwest. Bella was admiring her view of the night sky and stars while I was enjoying mine; having her in front of me was always a sight to see.

Her back was facing me and I secured my arms around her. She nestled into me and we both stayed quiet. All that could be heard was the wind gently blowing and the music playing from inside. I kissed the top of her head and then she turned around. She was smiling at me. She took my hands and placed them on each side of her face.

"Edward, I love you so much. Every single second, minute, and hour spent with you is always better than the last. Being here, a part of your world, is the only place I want to be for the rest of my life. You and Renesmee, along with our family, has been the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't know where I'd be without you. I don't know why I despise surprises so much. When they're from you, I don't mind at all because it's always a guarantee that it'll be pleasant. So tell me, Edward Cullen, what do you have up your sleeve this time?"

I chuckled at her; she knew me so well. I didn't delay it any further. I took out the envelope that I had been hiding for a couple of days now. She stared at it, probably guessing what could be inside, and then opened it. Inside held remnants of pictures of Isle Esme. I wanted to see if she remembered, since the last time we were there she was still human. She examined them one by one, very carefully, as if the answer to the puzzle was etched into the picture in extremely small letters. She got to the end of the pictures and then she held up 3 airplane tickets to Rio de Janiero. She stared back at me for quite a while and then her face lit up.

"We're going to Isle Esme?" she asked eccentrically.

I nodded and she attacked me with her hugs and kisses.

"When? And why now? There's nothing special coming up, I don't think."

I smirked and said, "It's Valentine's Day, love. We're going to leave in 3 days. Renesmee and the others knew about it. It'll be one week in paradise, just me, you and Nessie."

"I can't wait. My memories of the island are blurry. I can't believe it's been 5 years since we've been there. Oh, we have to take Ness around the island. You know, go swimming and sight-seeing. She loves being in the water and the animals actually seem to be okay with her presence," she said, clearly excited about the trip.

"Come on, let's go back inside. Alice and the rest want to know your reaction," I prompted, getting excited as well.

"Mmmkay," she replied. But before we went back, I brought her close to me and placed my lips on hers. I intended for it to be short and sweet but she deepened our kiss. As always, I had to be the one to stop it. Thankfully, my good control almost never faltered.

She pouted in dismay and I give her one small peck. She smiled and dropped her shield. (I'll get more out of you in the next couple of days.) I laughed knowing all too well that she was stating a fact and we reentered the dance floor to our waiting family.


	14. Chapter 14

**Bella's POV**

Chapter 14: The Trip

We were driving off to the airport. Jacob offered to take us. I knew he was having trouble with the thought of Renesmee being so far away from him for a week. He and Nessie spent every waking moment together since I found out about the trip. I was surprised so see Edward so at peace with them together. He used to lock his jaws every time Jacob even whispered in her ear. He must've been as excited for another honeymoon as much as I was.

The few human memories that I had now were mostly from Isle Esme. As time flew by, these little bits and pieces disintegrated. The only thing that didn't evaporate from my mind were the feelings I had that first night, when we were finally one, white on white, waist-deep in the calm water.

Renesmee and Jacob hugged for nearly 10 minutes. They were practically stitched together. I reminded her that we only had about an hour to get through the checkpoints and that was all it took. I didn't want to have to physically pry them apart. He didn't allow me to leave without saying goodbye to him either.

"Jake," I said as he squeezed me tight. "You act as if we're never coming back."

"Just let me say goodbye to my best friend, okay?"

I laughed. "You're going to help with the moving and building, right?" I asked. With the twins living with us now, there was simply not enough room for Cullen standards. Of course, Alice knew that this was coming. It was perfect timing, too, because sooner or later we were going to find another home anyways. Carlisle decided to switch hospitals as well. There was a good piece of land a little ways off from La Push, that way Nessie can still go to FJH and still be with Mia. While we'd be gone, Emmett and Jasper would team up with Esme and Alice to build and design a whole new Cullen mansion. Edward and I still preferred our quaint and perfect cottage so from time to time we could still access whenever we wanted.

"Yes, Bells, I'll help out." He said matter-of-factly. And then he whispered, "I'm working on that mission you sent out for me to do. Nessie's gonna love it." he said it low enough that Renesmee didn't quite catch it.

I nodded and thanked him with another hug. Edward and Jacob said their farewells to each other, too.

"Have fun guys, but not too much fun. You know what happened when you guys came back from that little island of yours," Jacob said as he was returning to the car.

We all shook our head in amusement. He was always such a kidder. We all knew that it was impossible for me to get pregnant again. As much as I secretly wanted to have my little Edward, I knew that my body was completely frozen. I was thankful for Leila wanting to leave her children behind for Rosalie and Emmett. At least this way, Renesmee could somewhat have siblings, even if they're not related to us at all.

The flight didn't take as long as we expected. I had Edward to keep me occupied. As for our daughter, she slept quite soundly. I snuck a peek at her dreams and no doubt, it was mainly about Jacob.

Apparently she was replaying her first kiss. This took me aback. I didn't realize that they were this close. I stared at her; her face was so peaceful. I sighed and let go, giving her privacy in her dreamland. I didn't like the fact that she was growing up so fast. It seemed like it was just yesterday when she first laughed.

Now that day, I would never forget. It was hilarious seeing Emmett angry at my defeating him in an arm-wrestling match. But that was also the day when my sweet Renesmee Carlie giggled, marking that bell-like jingle into my mind. I knew that deep in my heart, having Jacob by her side made her happier than anyone else on this world, including me being with Edward. He was her will to live and I wouldn't want it any other way.

The only thing I worried about was the fact that along with their romance, we would have to tell her of my and Jake's past.

Just then the pilot came through the PA system, announcing our arrival. At that same time, Renesmee stirred and her milk chocolate eyes looked up at me.

"Did you have a nice sleep, sweetheart?" Edward asked, weaving his fingers through her long locks.

"Mmhmm," she hummed back. "Did I hear it right? Are we really here?"

I smiled at her excitement. She was really looking forward to the ocean. She was always coped up in Forks, never really feeling the heat of the sun.

"Yes, hon, we're here. But we're going to have to get there by boat first," I answered.

"Come on, let's get our luggage. Ness, did you really have to pack so much?" Edward remarked buoyantly.

"You know how Aunt Alice gets," she replied equally elated.

We reached the island about an hour and half from landing. Just like the first time, Edward carried me towards the house. He was nothing if not thorough. Renesmee, on the other hand, dove right into the ocean when we were about a mile away from the shore; she had her swimsuit under her clothes before we left Forks. Once we set foot into the familiar living room, he left to retrieve our bags. I went through all the rooms trying to remember the last time I was here. The only thing that came to mind was Edward and I making love in the blue room and the room with the net canopy.

I heard him come in and I dashed to his side, needing his lips on mine. He dropped the bags and they made an audible thud. Being here a second time fueled my desire for him even more. He kissed me back with the same force as my fingers threaded through his hair. I didn't know which room we were in and I didn't care. I wanted him right here and right now.

We were going at it for about an hour when he suddenly stopped. I pouted and he just chuckled. And right on cue, I heard the front door open and close.

"If you guys are doing the nasty, can you stop for a bit so I can eat? I'm starving!" Renesmee said.

Judging from the dripping I heard from her swimsuit, she had fun in the water. Edward has already managed to get dressed while I was still naked under the covers. This week was going to be an interesting one.

It was our second to last day on Isle Esme. Edward received a call from Carlisle the other day when we were watching a movie in the living room with Nessie. Her head was resting on my lap and I stroked her hair. He just wanted to tell us that the new house was complete and ready for us when we got back. This trip was indeed very fun and all but the three of us couldn't deny that we missed Forks dearly. Everyone that we loved was there.

Renesmee became more and more restless as the days neared our departure. We all enjoyed going on an adventure on the island. I didn't realize that there was a whole lot more to it.

No doubt Emmett and Jasper would love the game here. Edward managed to catch a jaguar. Renesmee and I were completely content with the wild boar we found. She wasn't used to these animals so most of the time we cooked for her.

Now we were in bed, with my head resting on his marble chest. During our stay here, the only casualty was the headboard of our bed and this time it was my fault. My grip was too strong I guess.

We spent time with Renesmee more than we did together, surprisingly. She clearly enjoyed her time here. All her time was dedicated to the water. Like us, she didn't need to come up for oxygen. I didn't allow her to swim too deep, just to be safe. When we arrived I didn't expect for there to be 3 jet skis. Of course, like mother and daughter, Nessie got a thrill from the speed.

It was around dawn when Edward got up and got dressed. He handed me a lavender sundress instead of my usual t-shirt and jeans. He was wearing something very casual as well, like this was all part of a plan. And then it struck me, today was officially our last day here and that meant it was Valentine's Day. I threw it on immediately and made my way out to the kitchen to make breakfast for Renesmee. Before I got a chance to leave the room he was in front of me, blocking the door.

"What're you doing?" I asked suspiciously. I swear my husband of mine was always up to something.

He smiled crookedly at me and said, "I'm taking you out today. The whole day is reserved for just you and I. Nessie will be fine here. She even offered to pack our things. Although I know that girl will just spend more time in the water than pack. Anyways, if she needs us, she knows where we're going to be because I've shown her the location a few days ago."

And with that, I let him take my hand and off we went to spend the entire day together.

He led me to the water; we were heading towards what seemed like the southern tip of the island. This island was bigger than I thought. It took us about an hour or two to reach his favored destination. We reached a spot where there were two huge rocks. What I didn't see right away was the hole close to the far edge.

"Are you ready?" he asked anticipating my answer with a grin.

My eyebrows shot up. "We're going into the hole?"

"Yes. I want to show you something. We can only get there by going in and swimming to the opening a couple ways away."

Despite the waves crushing constantly against the rock, the water below it was very calm and peaceful. I looked to my husband and his smile never ceased. Right then and there I knew that whatever he had in store for me would be out of this world. Before I jumped in, I stole a peck on his lips.

The water was so still. It felt like satin gently rubbing against my rock hard skin. He was right next to me by the time I found the opening he was talking about. He took my hand, still in the water, and we came up for air.

I was amazed and completely stunned with my view. The crystal water reflected the hidden gems embedded the rock wall of this cave. It was incredible. The light changed the rocks into different shades of pale purple.

"Stuff like this just doesn't exist." I was overwhelmed.

"It does in our world." He smiled at me and took my hand. "This isn't even what I brought you to see."

He took my hand and we entered the other side of the cavern and into another tunnel. After another few feet I saw the most breathtaking sight. Its ceiling was a perfect arc. It was like it'd been hand carved on purpose. Edward turned me around, put his arms around my waist.

"Look!" he said excitedly.

And I did. We were inside an even more enormous cave. Inside there was an island of jewels and rock that was surrounded by water. Stalagmites hung down from the ceiling and patterns were formed all over the walls. The water was flowing steadily down a tunnel while the light was coming through some of the holes from the top; it made an even more magnificent green. Looking at the gems and looking at Edward ignited the memory of when he told me a little about his human life. The color matched what I imagined his human eye color was.

In the center was a huge pillar of rock that was textured from centuries of being untouched but it was almost perfectly flat. We sat down and stared at each other, in awe at our surroundings.

We were still wet from the swim over here and he just looked so sexy. He didn't need to read my mind to know what I wanted to do. Part of me even considered telling him that he hadn't needed a gem cave to get me to do this. I thought better of it and continued into our Valentine's Day. I was too busy to do anything but keep my lips on his. Our kisses deepened quickly and our clothes were coming off practically by themselves. The flat surface was surprisingly comfortable.

I don't actually know how along we were in the cave making love but he stopped after a long while. He got up and got dressed. Apparently there was more for us in store.

He led me out of the tunnel and turned towards the sun. It was about to set. We were on the other side the island now. He sat me down on where the forest floor met the sand and wrapped his arms around me as he leaned us back against a palm tree. The sun was turning the water and sky to a golden orange hue. Other than his breathing, there wasn't another sound to be heard. It was absolutely serene.

My head was on his shoulder and I looked up to stare at his eyes. "It's beautiful."

He was already looking down at me. I'm not sure he'd looked at the sunset even once. "Yes, very beautiful."

His lips were very close. Suddenly the sunset didn't hold any interest for me anymore. I put my hand in his cheek and kissed him softly. This trip was filled with lots of romance and adventure. It didn't matter where we were, though, because as long as I was with my wonderful husband and daughter, I was in paradise.

"Let's head back now. Renesmee's probably waiting to hear about our date," he said pulling us up.

This time, we ran through the forest and we found the house in no time. He went inside ahead of me because I stopped to walk around the house. I was really going to miss this place. I hope it was as memorable to Renesmee as it was to me. As wonderful this vacation was, there was no doubt that I was excited to leave and get back to our home and family.

**Liked it? If so, review! If not, still review! I would really love comments on how I'm doing and I'll gladly take some constructive criticism as well or some suggestions. Just please, _say something_! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Renesmee's POV**

Chapter 15: Homecoming

It felt odd not coming back to the home I've always known. I've grown accustomed to the specific smells each room had, intermixing with my family's various scents. The house was still ours but just vacant. Lots of memories invisibly written all along the walls. It was depressing to move, even if it was just about 20 miles away.

I had to be careful with my thoughts; it would break my grandmother's heart if she found out my dislike towards the new house. Here I am, complaining away before seeing it myself.

I replayed and replayed particular memories at the old house while we drove closer and closer to the new destination.  
Like the old one, this house was also hidden among the forest. I guess one good thing came with the house: a sweet, big balcony with an awning to shield the rain and a couple bean bag chairs for me to lie on for those nights I like to look up at the stars and sky. My room faced the south end and that meant sunsets would always be spectacular since we were practically neck and neck with the beach.

Poppa's Mercedes slowed. (We're here already?) I asked slightly annoyed. This homesickness really stuck with me.

"Renesmee, this IS home," daddy said with a steady gaze as he twisted in the passenger seat.

"I know, I know," I muttered under my breath, knowing he heard me. I stole a peek at my mom beside me and sure enough she was looking at me with sympathetic longing. One of her hands was idle and I took it in both of mine.

(It just feels wrong leaving the house so soon when Ms. Hill was buried, basically, not too long ago.)

By this time, Poppa had driven up the winding driveway. He probably sensed something wrong because as fast as he parked, he was gone all the same time.

Momma looked to daddy. She was probably telling him something secretly for my sake. I sighed and dropped her hand, placing mine on my lap.

After a minute of discussing silently, she said, "Ness, honey, I know it was a hard for you to let go of Leila but you have to remember that she wanted this. Emmie and Rommel are here with us now and that's all that matters. Because of them, we've become more complete," she paused assessing my reaction and continued, "besides, you can go back anytime you want to visit her grave. I'll even help you tend to it properly, okay? So turn that frown upside down because everyone missed you terribly."

I nodded, feeling slightly better. As if to prove my mom's last statement, Aunt Alice's face appeared plastered on my window, her expression complete excitement. To a stranger, they probably would've died from being surprised to death by her sudden welcoming.

"What's taking you guys so long?" she asked an octave higher than usual.

"Carlisle said you were having a little family discussion but hurry and come out so you can look inside!"

My parents laughed and I couldn't help but join in at her silliness.

Our doors opened and shut and at the same time Uncle Emmett, Aunt Rosalie, along with Emmie and Rommel came out to greet us.  
The twins were as fast as lightning and their hugs were just as forceful.

"Ness! Nessie!" They exclaimed together. These two passed as small 5 year olds a mere week ago. Now they were around 7 or 8. Emmie stood beside my aunt who hugged and kissed me next. There was no denying their resemblance despite there being no biological thread holding them together. Uncle Emmett punched daddy's shoulder and kissed my mom's cheek before throwing the both of us on his shoulder. It was nice seeing my family again. One week was too long to be separated from them.

Rommel carried our bags in with his power; his practicing was really paying off. The next to welcome us was Gramma. She practically slammed into me the second I went through the door.

"Oh sweetie how we've missed you," she cooed, "all of you. Now come here and hug your mother," she commanded playfully to my parents.  
With all the welcomings done, I took in the new atmosphere. We were all standing in the living room; it was a lot roomier than the old one. The flat screen was bigger as well. I'm glad we kept the comfy white leather couches. The walls were still white, perfect by Cullen standards.

"C'mon, Ness, let's give you a tour of the house!" Emmie squealed, tugging at her brother's arm.

"Okay," I replied wholeheartedly. Everyone was so jubilant that I couldn't help but catch their happy mood, too. Each section of the house was grander than the old one.

The dining room had an all-glass cabinet that displayed Gramma's finest china with the table a huge, beautiful white granite surface and color coordinating with the cabinet's black wooden frame. The kitchen had light mahogany cupboards with dark gray countertops. This kitchen looked more professional than the old one with a brand new oven and stove, all stainless steel along with the giant refrigerator. I'm sure all of this was for our grandmother, now that she had 3 grandchildren to cook for.

Once that tour was done, Emmie pulled me into the direction of a room that had double doors. Rommel was especially excited for this one because the minute it took to walk all the way inside he covered my eyes. When he let go, I was astounded to see a screen that took up a whole wall. I looked behind me to see a grinning Emmie, bouncing up and down on her seat with her brother besides her smiling in anticipation as well. This was a mini theater.

"Wow, this must've cost a lot," I observed.

The twins looked to each other and shrugged.

"Does it matter? I mean we're rich enough to own China if we wanted to," Rommel answered wiggling his eyebrows mischievously.

I laughed knowing he was right. With an aunt that can see into the future stocks and such, we were pretty wealthy.

"Next is the music room. We kept the grand piano but we also added a drum set for Rommy and a cello for me" Emmie said as we exited the theater room and entered the new and improved music room right across.

They played a little piece they practiced together. They were really talented but then again, who wouldn't expect that since they were the children of Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen. In fact, Rommel looked a little muscular for a 7 or 8 year old.

After spending time in the entertainment rooms, we went up the stairs to the rooms. All the art along the walls like the large, dark wooden cross hanging above Poppa's office were splattered evenly throughout the house.

"Mom and dad's...Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper...Gramma's...Aunt Bella and Uncle Edward..." the twins gestured, taking turns speaking, as we passed their rooms. Emmie showed me her room next and then Rommel's.

Last was my room. It was perfect! It wasn't that much bigger than daddy's room in the old house but I was completely fine with that. My walls were painted a cute, subtle pink. My bed, queen-sized of course, was right in the center with a net canopy that reminded me of Isle Esme. My bed sheets were a light yellow, with my pillow cases fluffed and flower printed. My eyes flickered to the big, blue bow on what seemed like a rocking chair right next to my computer desk. My parents replaced the presence of my cousins in my doorway.

"What's this?" I asked, intrigued. Momma left daddy's side to sit cross-legged at on my bed.

With her elbows on her knees and her chin resting on her palms, she answered: "It was my rocking chair when I was little. I didn't think of giving it to you until now because it slipped my mind. This, among other items, were still at your Grandpa Charlie's house when your father and I got married. My mom gave it to me and so now I want you to have it."

I walked over to it and gently removed the huge bow. Behind it revealed Renesmee Carlie Cullen in superscript and My Little Nudger in subscript below it and was written in smooth, perfect calligraphy.

I was so overwhelmed that I began crying.

"Oh, Momma," I said now that her arms her around me. "I love it. Thank you so much," I whispered onto her shoulder.

"You're welcome, baby girl," she replied into my hair. Just then, daddy's arms were surrounded us, too.

"My angels," he claimed with his velvet voice.

It wasn't long until they left me to explore the rest of my room. I walked into my bathroom to find a huge tub in one corner and a glass-covered shower in the other. There was a toilet, but I didn't need it. In the middle was a mirror big enough to see every aspect of the bathroom staring right back at me.

When I was done basking in my big room, bathroom and all, I went out to my favorite feature: my balcony. I was right on time, too, because the sun was setting. As I watched the rainbow of colors reflecting off of the water I realized that I missed Mia. We didn't hang out together for quite a while now. Good thing I would be going back to school in a few days. I still couldn't have her come over because of the twins but I guess I could ask to go to her house more often...

My thoughts were interrupted by my mom calling me to come downstairs. I closed my sliding doors and started making my way to the voices below. I was on the top of the staircase when the smell hit me.

I ran full speed to the kitchen, where I heard him talking to my mom. It seemed as if they were having a deep conversation but I didn't care.

"JAKE!" He turned around just as quickly to open his arms. We collided and didn't let go of each other for about 5 minutes. My mom looked slightly uneasy so I reluctantly let go.

"Momma, what's wrong?" I asked, finally realizing that whatever they were talking about was clearly upsetting her. But as soon as I acknowledge her discomfort, she composed herself.

"Nothing, sweetie. Just reminded Jacob about something, that's all," she said all too quickly. Before I got too suspicious, she started making her way towards the back door.

"Your dad and I have some things to attend to. We'll see you later on tonight. Oh and say hello to Seth for me." Her eyes flickered to Jake for a few seconds and then she was gone.

"Seth's here?" I questioned, confused.

"Yeah..uhm that's why your mom and dad left. They're going to talk to Rose and Emmett."

"But why?"

As if to answer my question, Seth came into the kitchen with Emmie on his back. He leaned towards the floor so that she can get back on her feet.

"Again! Again, Seth!" she commanded joyously.

To my surprise, he adhered equally cheerful. Seeing them together like this sent waves of nostalgia through my mind. Me and Jake were exactly like this. And now look at us.

"Oh. My. GOD. He..." I was too flabbergasted too continue.

"Yeeaup. Seth imprinted on Emmie," Jake sighed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Bella's POV**

Chapter 16: Unusual Rose

I found Edward easily, already following Emmett and Rosalie in the forest. We all decided to meet at our cottage. As I ran, I couldn't help but worry about my daughter's relationship with Jake. They were taking things in a pretty fast pace. Now that the vacation was over, Edward returned to his emphatic ways over Jake's imprinting on Renesmee.

On the ride home Carlisle informed him in his mind that he received a call from her school, saying she was given the honor of moving up a grade. Her intellect was way too advanced to be wasted on junior high prerequisites. I was beyond pleased, exultant even. But then it struck me that it meant another year closer for the agreement. Jacob willingly abided to my and Edward's conditions over him dating our daughter. We decided sophomore year was pretty reasonable for them to officially be together if that's what she wanted.

Ugh. Sometimes I really hate how perfectly Jacob stayed intact in our relationship; he'll always be my best friend and now he just may be more.

_She loves him more than anything, she loves him more than anything, she loves him more than anything_I chanted to myself as the cottage came to view.

For now I had to help Emmett and Rosalie. It was comforting but unfortunate for them to be going through the same thing. Though, I don't know if Rose would ever be fine with the idea of a werewolf imprinting on her hybrid daughter. There was no hiding her detestation towards "dogs". In fact, to further support my thought, she was pinching the bridge of her perfectly angular nose with her jaws locked tight in complete and utter chagrin.

"Babe, c'mon, calm down a bit," Emmett urged, massaging her shoulders.

"I mean I don't like the fact that Seth imprinted on our little girl but hey, the kid's not that bad. He helped with the army remember?" he shrugged when my sister didn't relax even an ounce.

She kept still as a Greek goddess statue. After a couple minutes she still wouldn't budge. At least she didn't run off and rip someone's head off, which we all know she's pretty capable of with the right level of anger.

"Why don't we go inside and sit for a while?" I suggested. Thankfully Rose followed, but she sat down on the couch, her arms crossed and her eyes glued to the ground, glaring.

Emmett didn't know what to do at this point. He looked to Edward at my side, his eyes pleading.

A few seconds past and Edward sighed.

"Rose," he called softly. She looked up, anguish replacing the ferocity in her eyes.

"Can I just talk to Bella alone for a moment?" she asked, her gaze freezing me in my stance. Edward and Emmett both gave a quick nod and then they were gone.

I sat beside my sister, not really sure how to approach the topic. Fortunately she started after a whole minute of silence.

"So this was how you felt when you found out that day when Jacob was 'testing' you," she said slightly amused now.

"I know you all expect me to be the least accepting of this but oddly enough I'm not."

What she said literally knocked the air out of me. Was this really Rosalie Hale that I was speaking to? I stared at her dumbfounded and her expression was somewhat calm, to say the least. When I didn't respond to her declaration she continued.

"I'm upset with the fact that I'm _not_ upset with Seth imprinting on Emmie. I guess over the years, seeing Jake with Nessie made me come to the realization that although I despise the fact a werewolf is basically a part of this family now, Ness is absolutely, positively HAPPY with him. He brings out the best in her in so many levels. Plus, it's comforting to know that if one day we fail to protect her, Jake would always be there. And now, my little girl can have the same happiness and assurance."

Huh, and to think I was here to help her out.

"Rosalie...did I hear everything right? I mean this just doesn't sound like you."

She smiled and it touched her eyes.

"Yes, you heard right, Bella." She paused and then added: "Saying that Rommel and Emmie made my life more whole is an understatement. Seeing them grow happy and healthy is all I could ever ask for in this life. Don't get me wrong, I'll still be the same old Rosalie everyone knows me as and be strict on the conditions of their relationship but overall," she sighed, a relieving sound and continued, "I'm happy."

We both smiled and embraced. If Rosalie was this quick to accept imprinting, then why couldn't I do it?

Just then Emmett and Edward came through the door with grins plastered all over their faces. My burly grabbed Rose by the waist and gave her one passionate kiss. Edward flitted to my side, his hands coiling my figure with his chin resting on my shoulder.

"We good, babe?" Emmett asked, still having a firm grasp on her sides.

"Mmhmm," she replied mindlessly. "Now let's go to our room," she suggested with a mischievous wink.

"You know what," Edward interrupted, "why don't you guys have the cottage for the day? We wouldn't want Emmie or Rommel asking what you two are grunting about upstairs while they play their instruments."

Rose and I giggled with Emmett smirking.

"If you insist, little bro."

"Just try to keep everything unbroken, okay, you two?" I asked before they basically shooed us away from OUR cottage.

I shook my head in amusement nearly all the way back to the house. Today was quite a day. In the end, Rosalie helped me softened up to the idea of Jake and Ness together. From the looks of Edward and Emmett's conversation, my husband did, too, from his decision to gradually pardon his dislike towards Jacob, for Nessie's sake. After all, she was at her happiest whenever he was around. And now that I knew I had someone else forever on my side, maybe letting go of my daughter won't be so bad in the long run.

**I hope you guys liked this chapter. It's kinda personally a favorite of mine now that I read over it again. Anyways, I just wanted to let you guys know that this is probably gonna be the last chapter before I post any more up. It's my dad's birthday today, it's like 12:23am right now btw, and so I'm going to be gone for a couple of days. Keep the reviews coming please!  
I'll be back as soon as I can! :) **


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm back! and so here's the next chapter for ya!**

**Renesmee's POV**

Chapter 17: Miracles?

Besides the fact that Seth imprinted on Emmie, everything was pretty peachy. We settled in quite rapidly and comfortably. The location was different but many elements from the old house were eminent here as well. The twins grew and apparently so did I. We were well into March now and Poppa explained that considering my 6th birthday was well under way, I was changing, slowly but surely, to look 17 for the rest of my existence.

On the days that Jake came, if he came at all since he was busy nowadays, he'd bring Seth along. My aunt was pretty persistent on _her_ conditions of imprinting but I had to admit that Aunt Rose was really easy on him.

He received better treatment than Jacob ever did, that's all I know. I'm guessing she's acting like this only because she knows that he sees Emmie as a friend; he feels compelled to protect her. This all started when Jake brought him along to help with the move. The second he laid his eyes on Emmie, his heart strings were being pulled in all directions, permanently tangling them to see only her and have feelings for only her. On the plus side, she had Rommel to occupy her whenever Emmie and her best friend were together.

Rommel was a mommy's boy, that's for sure, despite his semi burly demeanor. They spent a good majority of their time in the music room, playing duets together. Within a couple of weeks, he was able to master the piano on my level. Gramma was especially happy with this. She'd applaud and claim that seeing her children and grandchildren playing such beautiful music together always made her day.

As for me, my education resumed. Mia and I were officially freshmen in Forks High School, starting our first semester when technically it was second. Thankfully, we adjusted quickly. Since we were the only two who got bumped up, our principal thought it would be better for us to have all our classes together: World History, English, the dreadful PE, Biology, and Geometry. My parents told me that they met in Biology II but I told them I had the same teacher, Mr. Melena.

Nearly every day when school finally let out, I'd come over to Mia's house until dinner since it still wasn't safe to bring her home.  
Sam and Emily announced not too long ago that they were pregnant. Sam also mentioned that he was thinking of retreating from the pack so that he and Emily can grow old together and raise their children normally. Because of this, Jake had to step in a lot and help train Paul, Sam's Beta. He would be away days on end, performing his Alpha duties, along with filing in for Sam.

Thankfully he usually had ample time to come in the morning to give me a goodbye kiss before school. Being with my best friend helped me cope with not seeing Jacob most of the time.

"Ness? Nessie? Helllooooo, Earth to Renesmee?" Mia snapped. I was looking at her from her bed, completely disregarding my homework, but all I saw was my boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" I asked.

She sighed in frustration and muttered under her breath a 'never mind' response. She slumped back down on her computer chair, with her back to me. I bit my lip and mustered up enough courage to apologize.

"Look, Mia, I'm sorry. It's just that I miss Jacob. Plus I'm worried about my mo— I mean Bella."

"Whoa, I knew that you were feeling down because of Jake, but you never told me that something was wrong with your sister," she said as she spun her seat so that we were talking eye to eye. Fortunately she didn't notice my little slip up.

"Yeah, I mean I'm sure it's nothing but lately she's been acting really strange."

"What do you mean by strange?"

I thought about it. Momma started acting out of the ordinary about a week after our vacation in Isle Esme. She didn't usually have a temper but for a good couple of days she did. She lashed out one night when we were all watching TV. Commercials started rolling and she got _impatient_. And when you're an immortal, time isn't that significant of a variable. My mom was absolutely furious at the TV.

"I can't stand all this waiting. I'm leaving" were her exact words. She stormed out of the living room within a blink of an eye. I got up to try and console her but daddy already beat me to it, but it didn't necessarily work.

Another few days passed and her unexplainable anger died down. Her unusual shifts of mood didn't end there, however, because if she wasn't angry, she was very emotional. Emmie was playing her cello one morning when I was at school and my mom came in to watch. When my cousin was done playing, she opened her eyes to see her Aunt Bella welling up.

This worried me especially because vampires can't produce tears. Thankfully that was only a one-time thing but she continued being really moody. And then the last thing that happened, the one that was extremely odd, was last night when I was eating my dinner. Gramma made me my favorite meatball and mushroom spaghetti. I was sitting cross-legged on my chair in the dining room when momma came down from upstairs. She looked as if she were hypnotized, my dinner being the culprit.

To my complete and utter astonishment, she took a couple bites and said that it was really delicious. It was unbelievable coming from a vampire, who _should_ be saying human food tasted like mud pie. What made things worse was the fact that Poppa had no potential theory as to why my mother was acting this way.

When we asked Aunt Alice to see her future she'd bow her head in shame and say that she couldn't see anything. Before, this was her usual answer because of me and Jake, along with the rest of the wolves, the reason behind her blurred visions but over the years, she found ways to read over us and see the future. Whatever was happening to my mom was worrying everyone, me and daddy especially.  
I explained everything to Mia, leaving out the details she wasn't supposed to know.

"Well there's only one thing that came to mind as you were explaining your observations to me."

"What?"

"Well I feel like I'm intruding if I ask you what I'm thinking..." she said blushing pink.

"Just ask me," I prompted, but she stayed quiet. I wasn't going to let her get away so I made sure to never draw my gaze away from her, the one thing that made her really, really nervous.

"Okay, okay!" She surrendered, actually putting her hands up. She took in a deep breath before continuing.

"Do Edward and Bella...err...have, umm, sex?"

Oh, this was why she was acting so shy. To ease her tension, I laughed.

"Yeah, they do. They've been together for a good long time now so I suppose they do, I guess," I shrugged. Oh, how little did she _actually_ know.

"My thoughts stand corrected then. Bella may very well be pregnant," she said matter-of-factly.

My breathing staggered and my gaze deviated my best friend's hopeful eyes. All of the obvious signs flashed through my mind, all the brain boggling pieces of the puzzles finally coming together. But it couldn't be true! It was impossible for me to have a biological younger sibling, no matter how much I wanted one. Right?

Mia's face started to wrinkle from her worrying.

I waved her off and said, "I'm just a little shocked."

"Why? You and I both know that's what happens when 2 people come together and make love," she replied, her words riddled with humor and her face puckering up, making kissy-noises.

"Shut up," I answered playfully. "It's just that she tried to get pregnant not too long ago and my dad checked her and he said she wasn't capable of having children," I continued, completely making it up as I went.

"Oh, I see. Well, then consider this a miracle!" Mia got up and joined me on her bed to give me a big 'congrats' hug.

She was really happy for me, so why couldn't I be happy myself? I guess now I understood why everyone feared the unknown...

**I was so scared to post this chapter up. I know Nessie has Emmie and Rommel acting as her younger siblings when they're actually her cousins but I've always imagined her having her own sibling. I've already written exactly how this is going to happen and so when those chapters are posted, you'll understand. I would still really love your opinions on this. Please review, ask questions, or message me privately if you'd like! Just as long as I get some sort of input :)  
Please and thank you! **


	18. Chapter 18

**BELLA'S POV**

Chapter 18: Secrets

I couldn't explain what was happening to me. When I got angry or overly emotional it was as if someone else was controlling me. Thankfully most days I was back to normal.

"Love," Edward called to me apprehensively. He was the one suffering more than me in my situation.

"It's okay, Edward, I'm not moody today. Well at least right now I'm not," I answered.

"Bella! Are you ready?" I heard Alice call from downstairs.

She arranged for all the girls to have a shopping day. For some odd reason she wanted to go all the way to Tacoma.

Before I left, I made sure to kiss Edward. Esme and my sisters did the same with their husbands and then we were off; Rosalie didn't forget her darling little boy, of course. The guys would have a day out together, too, some male bonding. They were taking Rommel out to a more secluded area out of Forks so he could catch his first mountain lion.

Alice and Nessie were to drive with me and Rosalie drove her red mustang with Emmie and Esme.

"Ness, aren't you excited for an updated wardobe? Spring is finally here! Oh, I have these FAB rompers for you in mind plus the white strapped peep toe wedges I bought online would tie everything together!"

Nessie was able to come with us because school let out for Spring Break. She'd return to school in May.

"I was looking online, too, and I found this adorable Hello Kitty sweater with cat ears on the hood; it practically has Emmie written all over it," Nessie added.

Their conversation droned on and on, my background music. With my hands on the wheel, I weaved through the spaces on the road to the mall in Tacoma. Rose was trailing close behind me.

I was too busy trying to figure out why Alice was acting so strangely around Edward. This usually meant she was hiding something from him, which was an obstacle for most members of our family. When we arrived at the Tacoma Mall, Alice was the one to pull me away.

"Bella," she whispered fiercely. "I know you know I'm hiding something. You have to understand that you're the only one I can trust with the information I have. Edward mustn't know, or else he'll tell everybody. Well at least for right now he shouldn't know."

I stared into my pixie-like sister's big, puppy dog eyes.

"Alice what did you see? And why does it have to be so secret?" I asked back.

"You have to promise me you won't tell first."

I paused to think. If our family were in danger she would've spoken up by now.  
"Fine, now what is it?"

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Jasper and I are going to adopt," she answered, her eyes full of jubilance, her smile beaming with delight.

I gasped in response, completely caught off guard.

"Alice!" I exclaimed with our embrace. We were so happy that we were jumping up and down right there on the parking lot. The rest of the girls went ahead without us, eager to shop til they dropped.

"That's great! I'm so happy for you guys. It's about time you two started settling down," I joked.

"Yeah, well seeing Rose and you so motherly and such made me really introspect about my and Jasper's future," she replied, linking her arm with mine as we approached the mall's entrance.

"So wait, why do you want me to keep this a secret?" I prompted.

She skidded to a stop which caused me to halt abruptly as well. Clouds of worry replaced the twinkle in her eyes.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I asked frantically.

She started shaking her head, as if to get rid of the thought haunting her mind.

"That's the thing, Bella, I just know that for right now, we have to keep this a secret. I've seen my future with Jasper and my daughter. Like the both of us, she has a dark past, full of burdens. Jasper and I met because of fate, regardless of my seeing abilities," she urged.  
"Now I'm not entirely sure because everything has been obscured, but I know that the Volturi is involved."

I hissed in response of their name. They were always interfering with my family's well-being.

"Are you telling me that they know you're going to adopt? That's why they're keeping her away from you? Perhaps in hopes of you joining them?" I asked.

"I don't think it's like that. Like I said, I'm not 100% sure; I just see her being a Cullen. I truly believe that she was brought into our world to be with Jasper and I. Plus I've seen how her 'father' treats her. He's basically how I imagined Zachary would be. She's not being loved and cared for. God knows what'll happen to her if her father goes through with sending her to Italy!" she cried.

My gut was telling me that this was a bad idea. It could be a trap, but then again Alice's visions almost always come true. And when my sister decides on something, there's no turning back.

"What if the Volturi are, indeed, involved? I mean her father wouldn't be sending her to them unless she has a gift that Aro wants," I replied.

Her brow creased in thoughtfulness.

"That makes sense. It explains why everything has been a blur...or maybe it's you and your silly mood swings!" she answered, coming back to her chipper-self. I had forgotten about my sudden abnormalities until now.

We laughed, coming into an expensive department store. Nessie had no trouble finding us.

"Momma where did you and Aunt Alice go? We already have 3 shopping bags filled for each of us!" she exclaimed.

"Nowhere, sweetie. We just wandered off a little to have a little talk, that's all."

"Okay. Now let's shop!" she roared as quiet as she could.

By the end of the day, we each had about 20 shopping bags in tow. I took advantage of Renesmee sleeping in the back of Edward's Volvo to ask Alice more questions.

"So when exactly are you going to adopt her. In fact, _how_ are you going to adopt her?"

"It's not going to be anytime soon, most likely in the middle of the summer or earlier. As for the how, I haven't seen that yet."

"Does she have a name?"

"Jasper and I really like Ivee. Ivee Jade Cullen. Adorable, right?"

"Totally! All these adoptions make me really want to have another little nudger," I said, poking my stone-hard stomach.

Alice volunteered to drive home. As if my body understood my yearning, I felt movement in my lower abdomen. I gasped in astonishment, when I felt another kick.

"Momma, what's wrong?" Nessie asked, my gasp waking her.

With my head shaking incredulously I answered: "I swore I felt a kick in my stomach."

I expected her to reassure that it was nothing to worry about but instead, she remained quiet.

"Renesmee?" I asked twisting in my seat. I found her fidgeting and looking around, avoiding my eyes.

"Ness, what's the matter? Do you know something I don't know?"

She cringed but eventually answered me.

"Well when I was at Mia's after school one day, I told her about how you were acting really weird and she said that you might be pregnant," she muttered under her breath.

Just then Alice made a sudden turn and the next thing I knew we were on the side of the road, away from the freeway. I wasn't aware that she could drive and have a vision at the same time.

"BELLA!" she cried.

"What? What happened, Aunt Alice?"

"I don't know how it's even possible, but inconceivably, your mother is—"

"I'm pregnant?" I whispered in complete disbelief, my hand almost instinctively clutching my now growing stomach.

The car was filled with thoughtful silence. And to think Alice was the one who was going to be a mother.

"We have to keep this to ourselves," I said, breaking the stillness in the air.

"Okay, if that's what you want," Alice said, her 'deal-making' expression lingering on her face. We both had secrets we had to keep now.

"I'll try my best to keep this from daddy. But I think we really should visit Poppa's friend. I think he mentioned something about him knowing _everything_ about the vampire world, hybrids and all," Nessie suggested.

I nodded, agreeing.

"Let's head back now, we don't want anyone worrying."

With that, Alice returned to the road and off we went, hauling our secrets with us.


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay before I let you guys read chapter 19, I wanted to address _elle.'s _concern.I know that Paul imprinted on Rachel, Jacob's sister but the reason why I said Denise is because when I started writing this story, a close friend of mine (Denise) wanted me to put her in my story. She told me that she liked Paul a lot (Alex Meraz) and so I placed her as his imprintee.  
And in this chapter, I introduce new characters who are also based on my friends... hehe

* * *

**

**Renesmee's POV**

Chapter 19: The Redfords

I was really proud of myself for keeping daddy out of the loop. For one whole month, I was a success. Of course, going back to school helped out a lot. I mean, keeping the fact that my mom might be pregnant with my little brother or sister was such a heavy load on my shoulders.

Momma couldn't contain herself most of the time. She kept on dropping hints. My dad became suspicious anyway when she would cover me in her shield whenever she was in the room with me. He even tried to bribe me once. He offered to let Jacob sleep over.

_In my room. _

_With me. _

He was being so unfair.

"Daddy..." I groaned. "I can't tell you. I promised Momma and Aunt Alice."

"Alice?" He asked with his eyebrow shooting up. "Alice is a part of this?"

Oops.

Just then, my aunt came prancing into the dining room from upstairs.

"I heard my name. What's going on?"

"Alice," daddy said with his velvet voice. "I know you're having a hard time keeping Bella's secret. So why don't you do yourself a favor and just tell me."

"Nope!" she replied, with a pop.

"We made a deal. She hasn't told my secret so I'm keeping my mouth shut as well." As if to make it official, she zipped her lips and threw away the key.

"Alice," daddy growled.

"Edward," she replied, mocking him.

I laughed and said, "Daddy, just relax. I thought you liked the fact that Momma can keep secrets from you. You know, it's like a _mystery,_ totally sexy."

His expression was hard but it didn't touch his eyes.

"Besides my own sweet, little girl, my sister is keeping secrets, too? Jasper probably knows as well plus he's easier to persuade," he mentioned, his eyebrows wiggling up and down like a villain.

"Edward!" she pouted, "why do you need to know everything? Have a little fun! Don't worry; our surprises are very much worth the wait." With that, he sighed, admitting defeat.

And then we heard the kitchen door get ripped from its hinges. In a flash, Aunt Rose appeared with my limp mother in her arms. Rommel was close behind them, consoling his sobbing sister.

"Rosalie, what happened?" Aunt Alice asked when Aunt Rose placed her on the couch.

"CARLISLE!" Daddy roared. In a few seconds, everyone had gathered in the living room.

"We were out hunting and we caught the scent of some deer. Then when Bella got her kill, she drank it halfway and just stopped. She couldn't stand up so I carried her over here," Aunt Rose explained quickly.

"I'm fine, you guys," Momma said feebly. And then she vomited a fountain of blood.

"Bella!" Daddy screamed, completely terrified. I was too overwhelmed to do anything but stare wide-eyed.

"Let me handle this, son," Poppa said, already kneeling before my mom. I just hope the baby is okay, I thought.

"Baby? What baby?" Daddy snarled. My aunt flitted to me, placing me protectively behind her.

"See, Edward? This is why we were hiding this from you."

"You mean to tell me _this_ was Bella's secret?" He asked, more gently.

We nodded, not knowing what else to say. Gramma had already managed to clean the floor.

"Edward, I'm fine now. Everything's okay," my mom said, looking completely recovered and approaching my dad.

"Bella...are you really?" He asked, his question incomplete. With her dazzling smile, she nodded, absolutely glowing with opulence.

"But how?" Aunt Rose asked, her question pointing directly towards Poppa. By now, Emmie had stopped crying from worry and was being held by Uncle Emmett.

"Well it would explain her abnormalities these past couple of months. And now that I think about it," he paused to start pacing, "this all began about a week after your trip to Isle Esme."

"Maybe she's not pregnant," daddy suggested and at the same time, my smile and my mom's smile faltered.

"Yes, I am. I felt nudges," momma replied with a pout. It looks like her mood swings are acting up again.

"But love," daddy urged, "you and I both know that this is impossible," he said pointing at her stomach.

"So what? We thought Renesmee wasn't possible." She then took daddy's hands with hers. "Edward...I'm pregnant. I know I am," she said, her eyes pleading for him to comprehend.

Again, he sighed. "Carlisle, what do you think?"

He was shaking his head in disbelief but answered, "I think she's right. I have no other explanations. There is, however, one factor that goes against her pregnancy."

"What, Poppa?" I asked.

"You see, sweetie, with you, your mother was pregnant for only a month, the same goes for Rommel and Emmie with Leila. It's been about 4 months now, and Bella isn't even showing."

"Actually, I am, kinda," Momma answered sheepishly. "I've been trying to hide it to surprise Edward."

"Bella," daddy groaned. "You shouldn't have hid this. Your life may be in grave danger."

"Edward," momma replied, patting his cheek. "I'm a vampire now, remember? Nothing can hurt me."

"Exactly. You're a vampire now, and that means it's impossible for you to be pregnant," daddy responded fiercely.

My mom shook her head and said, "Why must you be so stubborn? Alice and Nessie believe me."

"Hey, I do, too," Aunt Rose joined in. "I guess this family is just blessed with miracles," she said with her eyes grazing over me and her twins.

"Oh, how exciting to have another grandchild," Gramma added with her hands over her heart. Aunt Alice and my mom exchanged a wary glance. I wonder what _her_ secret was.

"Yes, very exciting," Poppa said, now having his arms around Gramma's waist. "I suggest we go and visit my friend Stephan Redford in Salem. He should have an answer for us."

"Let's go right now. It's nearing twilight and we can reach Oregon by midnight," daddy said.

"Bella, what do you think?" Poppa asked.

"Okay, let's go," she answered with a nod.

"I'm coming, too! I don't want to go to school," I exclaimed. No way was I missing out on finding out about my little brother or sister.

The drive to Salem, Oregon flew by just like the trees we passed on our way over there. I was anxious to meet the man that knew about my kind. Poppa called him while daddy was on the wheel, gripping it so tight that the tendons in his knuckles seemed close to popping out. I couldn't understand why he was acting this way. To lighten the tension in the atmosphere I started asking Poppa questions.

"So what kind if vampire is this Stephan Redford guy?"

Poppa was quiet for a good minute before he answered me.

"He's not a vampire. He's actually a warlock," he said slowly.

Momma and I were speechless. Are all the myths true? Vampires, werewolves, and now, witches and warlocks?

Daddy's laugh nearly shook the car.

"What's so funny, Edward?" My mom asked.

"It's Renesmee. She's questioning about the myths in the world."

I'm glad my curiosity was amusing him. Maybe now he'd loosen up a little. It wasn't long until we were in front of what looked like a small book store. The lights were out but once we shut our doors, they flickered open.

Even with it being spring, the Pacific Northwest still had fog rolling in. We neared the entrance of the store and we were greeted by a handsome, lanky man. He wore square, black rimmed glasses that did no justice to his icy blue hypnotic eyes. His hair was combed very neatly, almost as if he didn't even have to try to look so suave.

"Carlisle Cullen. Long time no see, eh?" He said, extending his hand to Poppa.

"Precisely, my old friend," he replied.

"Well come in, come in! I wouldn't want you to stand out in the cold. Oh, what am I saying? You vampires don't even feel the cold!"

We laughed at his little joke and we ushered into the store. Row upon row of shelves were filled with all kinds of books. Stephan led us to the back where we went up a flight of stairs. A few moments later we entered their living room.

"Auvril, honey, they're here," Stephan called while he gestured for us to sit. Just then, a woman with long, sleek black hair and big brown eyes stood before us. She was a good 4 or 5 inches shorter than her husband. She was very pretty with rosy cheeks.

"Welcome to our home," she said with the warmest smile, with a dimple showing, almost as if it were shy. "I was going to bake a pie but Stephan reminded me you don't eat."

"Oh, yes but thank you for the thought," daddy replied.

Her eyes darted between my parents and I and daddy answered her silent question.

"Yes, she's our daughter. This is Renesmee and my wife, Bella."

"I'm pleased to meet you all. Stephan and I have 2 of our own, Anne and Ethan. They were tucked in bed already when you called."

"It's fine, it's fine. We wouldn't want to wake the children," Poppa waved off.

"So Renesmee, tell me, are you a hybrid?" Stephan asked.

I nodded and Auvril's eyes lit up.

"Oh, how intriguing! I haven't seen one in centuries," she claimed exasperated.

"Do witches and warlocks live forever, too?" I asked, my curiosity taking over.

Daddy gave me a chastising stare. Auvril and Stephan noticed.

"Oh young Edward, don't scold your little one. She's just very open, I like that," Stephan said with a genuine smile. "You see, for warlocks and witches we don't necessarily live forever. We age once every 50 years or so. The more we practice our magic, the longer we live. Anne and Ethan are still fairly young and so we try and make their lives as normal as possible."

"I see," I said and nodded.

"Anyways, I noticed when you called that there seems to be an emergency," Auvril said.

"Yes, there is indeed. Bella here seems to be pregnant. But you and I both know that it's impossible for our kind to reproduce. We were wondering if you had a book of some sort to answer our questions," Poppa answered.

"Would you mind if I examined you, Bella?" Auvril asked politely. "We can step into our bathroom, if you'd like. I guess you can call me some sort of witch doctor or nurse," she added with a tiny laugh.

Momma agreed, getting up. Daddy followed them, never letting go of my mom's side.

Stephan began entertaining us with his questions, mostly towards me.

"Darling Renesmee, I must know...do you have a power?"

"Yes, I do," I replied. "Do you want me to show you?" I asked peeking through my lashes. I didn't want to make it obvious that I was staring; I didn't know that witches and warlocks can be so graceful and beautiful as well.

He nodded eagerly and I touched his cheek.

(Is my mom really pregnant? I would really love to have a baby brother. Or a baby sister. Either way I just really want a sibling.)  
He smiled, dumbfounded at my gift.

"How extraordinary," he whispered.

It took a while for him to compose himself, and answer my question.

"From what I know and researched about the vampire world, it is possible for your mother to be pregnant. It is, however, very rare."  
After that, Auvril and my parents returned to the living room.

"What's the verdict?" Poppa asked, as anxious as me.

"Bella's pregnant," daddy breathed, truly elated.

I jumped up from the cushion and did a happy dance.

"Momma's pregnant! Yes, I'm going to have a baby brother or sister!"

"But wait, we still don't have an explanation," Poppa persisted.

"Yes, well Bella and Edward described where they conceived. There are only about 3 mystical caves in the whole wide world that have been untouched by human mining. The cave that they entered had magical fertility gems, if you must, that enabled them to conceive. It's very rare, indeed, but Bella was able to carry Renesmee when she was still human so her reproductive organs are still working, but over time it will completely stop," Auvril explained.

"It's a miracle!" I proclaimed. Everyone smiled and she continued.

"Now with this pregnancy, your symptoms are very similar to that of a human. Bella is very well into her 5th month and I'm guessing she'll be due in September or October. She is, after all, carrying a vampire child, although he or she will be very unique due to her power as well as Edwards."

"Is there anyway of monitoring the fetus? How will we deliver it? Will she be in any pain at all?" Poppa asked, question after question.

"Unfortunately, no, there's no way to monitor the baby. Her skin is acting as a barrier, protecting it. Bella will be able to deliver normally, but a C-section is what we recommend. As for the pain, it will gradually come as she nears her due date. The last month should be the hardest."  
"Also like Renesmee, this baby will grow quite rapidly. He or she would most likely reach maturity within a year or two," Stephan added.

"Is there any way to find the sex of my baby?" Momma asked, reserved.

"We can look into my crystal ball," Auvril suggested. I couldn't control my snicker. This time my mom joined me.

"Yes, we know, it's very stereo-typical but I guarantee you, it works," Stephan said, with a hint of laughter in his tone as well. I'm glad they weren't getting offended.

We all went downstairs to the back room of the book store. Auvril opened an empty cabinet. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. She was murmuring a chant in a language I didn't understand. And then out of thin air, the crystal ball appeared right in the center. She took it and placed it on the table.

"Bella, can you stand next to me please?" she motioned. Stephan said we would have to watch from afar.

Auvril started chanting again. With one hand on the round, crystal ball, she rubbed my mom's stomach with the other. Ripples and blotches of a magnificent green and silvery white danced and intermingled within the crystal surface. Daddy was staring intently at her, reading her mind. After one full minute, the ritual was done and my dad had the biggest grin on his face.

"So what did you find out?" Momma prompted.

"I'm glad to say that you're going to have a healthy and handsome vampire baby boy," Auvril announced.

I raced over to my shocked mom and hugged her tight. I lowered myself so that I could talk to her stomach.

"Hey baby bro, I can't wait to meet you," I crooned.

Everyone was all smiles and cheer. Once Auvril had put everything away, she used her cool witch powers and everything disappeared, we left.

"Stephan, we cannot thank you both enough for tonight. We do apologize for barging in so late," Poppa said with his hand on Stephan's shoulder.

"Hey now, what're old friends for? Just don't be a stranger, alright? We should definitely meet again soon, have our families bond, yeah?"

"That's a brilliant idea," Daddy exclaimed.

We said our goodbyes to Stephan and Auvril and raced to get home before daybreak. I feel asleep as soon as we hit the freeway. When we reached the house, I heard daddy say something like: "Now time to deal with Alice's secret."

I was too drowsy to react.

**Hehe...witches and warlocks...Salem, Oregon. GET IT?  
No?  
Oh okay.**

**But yeah. I hope this explains Bella's impossible pregnancy. Like I always say, if you guys have any questions, concerns, comments, suggestions, etc, PLEASE don't hesitate and review or send me a PM (private message). **


	20. Chapter 20

**Alice's POV**

Chapter 20: Fleeing

We watched Edward's Volvo speed away by the window. When the car was out of sight, everyone left to do their own thing. With Jasper's hand in mine, I led him upstairs to our bedroom.

"Jazz, I think it's time..." I said crawling to the center of our enormous king-sized bed.

"And by time, I'm guessing you don't mean sex, right?" he replied with a sly grin.

"Honey, we can do that later, when the twins are sleeping," I answered back cunningly.

"I have a feeling we're going to find Ivee soon and that means we have to tell everyone. And now that Bella's secret is out, it's only fair that we share ours."

He stared gingerly at me with his amber eyes. I can tell he was deciding. I waited patiently, well as patiently as I could, and as clear as he would've answered aloud I had a vision; Esme and Rosalie buried themselves in designing Ivee's bedroom. As for Edward, I saw him getting upset at the fact I didn't tell him that the Volturi were involved. I'd deal with him later.

"C'mon, c'mon let's go and tell everyone!" I said, tugging on Jasper's shirt. He chuckled and kissed my nose.

"You're so cute," he replied, his lips meeting mine.

"Oh, I know," I answered back.

We were back downstairs in a heartbeat and in that same time I called for everyone to meet in the living room once again. I was already jumping up and down from my excitement.

"What's up, chipmunk?" Emmett asked with Emmie and Rommel on each of his shoulders. I always loathed that nickname he gave me, but nothing could possibly shatter my happiness at the moment.

"Jazz and I have an announcement to make," I started.

I looked to my husband before I continued.

"We're going to adopt!" I exclaimed.

Esme's arms were around me within a blink.

"Oh, Alice! And to think I was going to have 4 grandchildren, but now there'll be 5! I'm so overjoyed."

If she were able to cry tears of joy, the house would've been flooded by now. Rosalie was next to claim me while I heard Emmett congratulate Jasper with an "it's about time, bro."

"Alice, was this what you were hiding? You should've told us sooner. Everyone is obviously happy for you and Jazz," she said.

"Yeah, Aunt Alice. Keeping our future cousin a secret is mean," Emmie said with a frown.

"Well the cat's outta the bag now so we can celebrate," Rommel replied with a hug. Oh, how this little boy was growing up exactly to be like his father.

Jasper was quick to do the explaining.

"We could've told you all the good news sooner but with this adoption, it's going to be a little challenging."

"Heck yeah, you know how I like a challenge," Emmett answered smugly.

Before his comments got out of hand, I continued.

"About a month ago, I was searching for my and Jasper's future. Seeing Rosalie and Bella so happy with their children made me really want to adopt. It was then that I saw a glimpse of a girl, younger than Rommel and Emmie, crying in the woods somewhere, like she was abandoned. After that I started getting more flashes about her. I saw that she's miserable with her good-for-nothing father. What's worse is that the Volturi are involved."

Rosalie's grip on her twins tightened.

"When we went hunting last night, Alice saw that Aro wants her for her gift. He plans to use it against us," Jasper added.

"Then, what're we waiting for? Let's go and get your daughter," Emmett said rolling his long sleeves up.

"Em, it's not that easy," I replied, allowing myself to be pained a little.

"I haven't seen the decision being made yet. Her father plans to send her to Italy soon. When he decides, I'll find her."

"Alice," Esme said with her motherly tone, "don't be ridiculous. We'll help you find her," she reassured. Rosalie and the rest nodded in agreement.

I smiled in return. I'm glad my family was so supportive.

"My best guess is that Ivee's in Alaska. One of the places I saw her in looked like Anchorage," I mentioned.

"Well in that case, we should give the Denali's a call. I'm sure they'll be glad to help and look out," Rosalie suggested. Emmie lit up at the mention of my daughter's name.

"That name is adorable! I can't wait to meet her, Auntie Alice," she said, her arms wrapping around my waist.

"Me, too, kiddo. Me, too," I sighed, stroking her long blonde hair.

Hours passed before we heard the car crunching the gravel on the way to our driveway. I was too engrossed in my thoughts when I saw Bella make the decision to name her son Edward Masen, Eddie for short.

After that I replayed and replayed the image of my Ivee. I wanted her beside Jasper and I, safe from Aro's reach. She doesn't belong it Italy; she belongs with us. I distracted myself by thinking of her skin, milky white and her hair a curly fiery red. She also had the sweetest blue hazel eyes...

"Alice," Edward called bursting through the door.

I was prepared for his mindless rampage, already waiting on the couch with Jasper's head resting on my lap. Carlisle came in a few moments after, carrying Nessie who was mumbling sleepily.

"Who's Ivee?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"Who's Eddie?" I asked back, equally callous.

Bella was beside him now and she patted my brother's cheek. Like always, he calmed down with just her mere touch. She must've dropped her shield to explain about Eddie.

"Really? Edward Masen?" he asked her, his whole face full of wonder. She nodded and then turned to me.

"I'm guessing your secret's out now, too?"

I chuckled lightly, "mmhmm."

"Alice," Edward sighed, "I wish you would've told me about you guys wanting to adopt."

"Edward, you have to understand that I was thinking about the safety of Ivee and our family. At that time of my vision, I just knew that the Volturi were involved but not exactly their reason of involvement."

He nodded and sat next to me with Bella following him.

"I'm sorry if I was so hostile earlier. I've had a long day and now a new one is starting," he said shaking his head at the dull light peeking through the living room curtains.

"I'm happy for you the both of you, honestly. You'll finally know the feeling of utmost joy and love of having your little miracle." As he said this, he began to rub Bella's growing stomach. Jasper and I smiled.

"Has the decision been made yet? When are you going to get her?" Bella asked.

"No, but I know it's going to be soon. Aro wants her gift. He thinks it will be useful against us in the future." Edward's lips pulled back slightly at my vision I replayed for him.

"Aro just won't stop," he said.

"Exactly! Which is why I need to find her!" I was practically yelling from worry. Just then my line of sight blurred and I was no longer staring at my brother.

Ivee was crying again but instead of crying in the middle of somewhere, she was fleeing. _She was fleeing to find us._

I was snapped back to reality. Jasper was still shaking me, begging to tell him what I saw. Thankfully Edward was already way ahead of me.

"Ivee's coming here. We have to go now if we have any chances of finding her before she gets lost or if anyone snatches her," he said.  
Esme, Rosalie, Emmett and Carlisle gathered at the living room, hearing his declaration.

"I'm coming with you," Bella said getting up. Edward shook his head, his eyes hard, liquid amber.

"Bella, please stay here with Esme and the children," Edward implored.

"You'll need my shield to protect all of you," she argued. We were quiet, awaiting Edward's response, but I already knew his reluctant decision.

Before we left, we called for Jake to help with watching over the children. With Jake, it was only expected for Seth to be included in our future protection details.

We also gave the Denali's a call. Being that Ivee was still considerably young; she can't go that far off and would still be in Alaska's vicinity. Carlisle was quick to get us last minute tickets to Juneau. From there, we would meet up with Kate and Garrett and head for the forest to find my daughter.

Emmett and Rosalie kissed Rommel and Emmie while they were still fast asleep as did Edward and Bella to Nessie. Esme held my face with her hands.

"Be safe. Make sure all of you come back in one piece," she breathed, stroking Jasper's cheek as well.

"We will," he said, his tone riddled with determination.

If only I was as brave as my husband. I couldn't hide the terror underneath my features.

"Alice," he said, pulling me into him. "We _will_ find her..."

"I really hope we do," I said onto his shoulder.

With all the goodbyes done and Jacob and Seth arriving, we left for the airport to Juneau to rescue our daughter.

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**Hey, guys! I just wanted to give you a heads up...I don't know when I'll be able to update this story as often as I do now. School life and my life in general has been rocky lately and I need to focus on them right now. I hope you guys understand. I'll try and at least get one chapter up a week but if not then forgive me!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Whew, I'm glad I managed to get this chapter done. I didn't take too long, right? hehe, sorry again. I still have lots to take care of and I don't know how long this will last. I promise to get a chapter up when time permits.**  
**Oh and please excuse the language...**

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**Alice's POV**

Chapter 21: Ivee

Five long agonizing hours, 25,000 feet in the air. I kept on fidgeting, trying to focus on Ivee and where she could be. All that I got were flashes of trees she ran past and a deer that she caught and drank from being so worn out from fleeing.

I was glad on one thing: that she chose to be vegetarian on her own.

What I didn't understand was how she escaped from her father. Or how she knew about us and where we were. The last I saw of her was standing amongst a tree with a huge trunk covering. She decided to rest for a while and then start running again as soon as she regained her strength.

I sighed in relief. Edward's features eased, too. This way, it would be easier to find her, now that she was stable.

After about an hour the plane finally landed and we were literally sitting on the edges of our seats. As far as I knew, Ivee was still sleeping but it took all of my might to not break down the emergency exit and make a head start.

"Alice, don't do anything rash. She's safe now, sleeping. We'll find her in no time," Edward reassured me.

I smiled meekly, silently thanking him for his words of comfort.

We began exiting the plane about 5 minutes after our little exchange and we walked, a little faster than human speed and found Kate and Garett quickly.

"Kate, Garrett, thank you for accompanying us in search for Jasper and Alice's daughter," Carlisle greeted them with extended hands.

"Anything for family, Carlisle," she gestured with her gaze resting on each one of us.

"Let's get going. With all of us searching, we're sure to find her within an hour or 2, maybe less. Tanya, Carmen, and Eleazar are scouting Anchorage and other local places not too far away," Garrett mentioned already making his way through the crowds.

Poor Jasper must've been struggling with his scorching thirst being surrounded by all these humans, obviously here for Alaska's annual summer scenes which was fast approaching. I took hold of his hand, lacing it with mine and ran ahead. Everyone followed soon after and we made our way to the forest.

Within 30 minutes of roaming, trying to catch Ivee's scent, I had a vision. And my worst fear came to life. Her father found her and was practically dragging her along the forest floor because of her resistance. He was actually contemplating whether or not to steal one of the boats secured along the harbor and tie her up to the railing, pulling her back to Fairbanks through the water!

I panicked. We were losing time. I ran faster, desperately seeking any whiff unfamiliar to me, hoping it could be Ivee's scent or her father's.  
Edward, Bella and Jasper didn't stray far away from me.

We were well into the border of Anchorage and like an answered prayer, Jasper came to me, reporting a scent he found. We followed his lead and sure enough the scent became stronger. A little more searching, closer to the coast of the forest where the water was visible, and I saw her fiery red locks. As we were nearing her father, something stopped him short.

It was Tanya, blocking his path. Soon, Emmett and the rest caught up with us, emerging from the deepest parts of the forest.

At first, he wasn't aware that he was being ambushed.

"Tanya, what a pleasant surprise," he said sarcastically, sneering. So this guy knew Tanya.

"Jesse, hand over the girl or we'll attack you," she warned with acid, this encounter unpleasant to her as well.

"Humph," he grunted, "everyone seems to want this stupid kid."

Jasper and I couldn't hold back our hisses, and we were joined by Edward and Bella. Jesse turned around at the sounds.

"What the?" He said his eyes bulging out. "What're they doin' here?"

"We're here to get my daughter," I seethed out.

Ivee's head turned at my statement. Her eyes were full of longing. His grip tightened on her arms.

"Ow! Stop hurting me!" she yelped.

Jasper couldn't contain himself. He ran full speed towards Jesse. Tanya snatched Ivee away just in time. Jesse and Jasper were throwing punches and teeth were snapping. Edward and Emmett followed quickly. Jesse was in trapped in Jasper's arms, a few seconds away from getting his head ripped off.

"Wait!" I shouted. I wanted him to get a piece of my mind before he permanently left this Earth.

"How can you treat a sweet, innocent little girl like a stubborn horse? She's your_ daughter_ for God's sake! She's not safe or happy with you and we're NOT going to allow you to send her to Italy."

"Aro will find you! He has that Felix guy and he'll find you in a heartbeat. Aro will know that you took her and he'll kill you," he spit out.  
I huffed. He probably hasn't heard of us.

"I would _love_ to see the Volturi try. He wouldn't dare kill us. We're not even supposed to know why he wants Ivee. From this moment on, she's _MINE_. With us she'll be loved and protected," I said.

He glared at me for a good while and then he directed profanities to Tanya.

"This is all your fault, you bitch! I never wanted this life! Look what you've done!"

Tanya shook her head incredulously.

"Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. Always blaming someone else for your unhappiness. I bit you because I saw potential. You and I could've been really happy together, but you never let me explain. You just took off and went on the wrong path. Ivee doesn't deserve the anger to put out on her. You don't like this life? Well, too bad because this is the only life you have. And then you go and make another life, a life that you never intended to be responsible for. Now, do _you_ see what you've done?"

His jaws locked and unlocked as he processed her rant.

"I don't get why you guys want her so much. She's useless; she never does anything I tell her to do. She even used her power against me. That's the only reason why she escaped from me. Stupid, girl," he muttered.

And that was all it took.

I ran to him and finished his head. Jasper and Emmett took the rest of his body apart and Rosalie tossed the lighter on his chunks.

Ivee clung tightly to Tanya, her eyes completely sealed shut. She was even whimpering a little.

"Hush now baby girl. He's gone and you'll never be treated like that again. Ever," I soothed. She looked up, sniffled, and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Are you really my mom?" she whispered, looking up at me as Tanya placed her on the ground.

"No, but from this moment and until forever, I am," I said, lowering myself so that I was at her eye level.

"You have no idea how long I've waited for you, Ivee," I breathed.

She began crying but crushed herself to me. I hugged her tight, never wanting to let go. It wasn't long until Jasper's arms were around us as well.

"Are you my new daddy?" she asked innocently with her big blue hazel eyes.

He chuckled and answered: "Yes, I am and your new name is Ivee Jade Cullen."

Her whole face lit up. "I've never had a last name," she replied excitedly.

"What was your first name?" I asked, wondering what awful name Jesse came up with.

She frowned at the mention of her terrible father. "He just called me 'Red' because of my hair."

Jasper and I exchanged an exasperated look.

"Hey Jasper, Alice. You wanna introduce us to you daughter?" Emmett called as everyone began approaching us.

Ivee's hand was glued to mine while I spoke.

"Ivee, honey, this is your family now. You're grandfather, Carlisle and these are your aunts and uncles: Emmett and Rosalie, Edward and Bella, Kate and Garrett and Tanya."

Carmen and Eleazar joined us not long after all the introductions.

_Ay, Dios mio!_ You've found her! Thank goodness!" Again, we were hugged and kissed. I was eager to get on the plane back home but we had one little problem.

"She has no passport. We won't be able to get her one in such late notice," Carlisle said, his hand rubbing his chin.

"We'll run. I'll carry Ivee on my back if I have to," Jasper answered.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. We have more than enough room for all of you in our home. Perhaps Carlisle and the rest would want to leave ahead and get the documents needed and come back," Eleazar offered.

"Thank you so much for your generosity. It all depends on our new little member of the family now," Carlisle answered. We all looked to Ivee for a response. All she did was tug on my shirt to bring my ear to her lips.

"Let's stay here for a little bit. Please mommy?" she asked with her adorable, tiny chime-like voice. Who could say no to that?

I nodded without any hesitation and then we were off in our separate ways.

Carlisle and the rest would go back to Forks by plane while Jasper, Ivee, and I would stay with the Denali's. We were expected to stay for at least a week in Alaska and I would take advantage of that time to spend it with my wonderful husband and newly adopted daughter that was now all mine, forever and ever.

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_**Review! Review! Review! :)**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Bella's POV**

Chapter 22: Bundles of Joy

The week flew by quickly. Edward and I went on a little trip to visit an old friend of mine: J. Jenks.

I phoned him, as to not give him a heart attack since another Cullen was asking for one of the specialties in his menu. Ivee needed a passport and an ID and fast. During her stay in Alaska with the Denali's, I asked Alice for a picture of Ivee and sure enough, it was in my email in less than 30 minutes.

Esme and Rosalie were the most excited next to the children themselves. Rommel was a little reluctant but that was only because there were a lot more women in the house now. He simply could not wait until his other new cousin was here. I just ruffled his already messy hair and told him the same thing.

Next to Alice in the decorating business was Rosalie. She, Emmie, Nessie and Esme would night and day on the preparations for Ivee. Starting from a brand new room to the whole house, every surfaced was polished with this and that for Ivee's homecoming. We decided on the last minute to not invite the wolves for now, for they might frighten her.

I tried to help out at the best of my ability but then having Edward Cullen as your husband and the father or your children made it a little more than difficult to even walk up and down the stairs. He was only acting this way because my stomach grew significantly and my cravings were acting up more than ever. It wasn't a surprise to me that the only human foods I still enjoyed were eggs that Edward cooked. My baby seemed to also enjoy lots of sweets like ice cream cake.

We were all piling up in the living room now. Alice, Ivee, and Jasper's plane landed about an hour ago. Carlisle and Emmett left to pick them up.

It wasn't long until we heard the car pull up on the driveway.

I was happy to see that she was already clearly attached to her new parents. Of course, with Alice as your mother, you'd be looking fashionable any day and every day.

She was all smiles and her expression was classic the second she speed foot into the house. Shouts of welcome erupted and filled every room.

Her eyes were so close to popping out of their sockets.

"Oh daddy," she cried, hiding sheepishly behind Jasper. "Is all of this for me?"

"Yes, all for you my precious little red tulip," he answered placing a kiss on her forehead.

Esme was quick to claim her newest grandchild.

"Hello, Darling. Welcome home! I've cooked all sorts of foods for you and your Aunt and I prepared your bedroom. Oh, you do not know how much you mean to us," she said rocking her back and forth. She was so small compared to everyone else, her being the youngest by far. She looked to be about a big 5 year old.

I hugged her next, taking advantage before the children sweep her away to give the grand tour of the house.

"Hi Aunt Bella," she greeted with the cutest chime.

"Hi Ivee," I replied, "welcome home sweetheart."

She smiled in return and started batting her full, long lashes.

"Can I kiss your belly? Mommy said that there's baby growing inside," she asked rocking on her feet and her hands crossed behind her back.

She was too adorable. I laughed and nodded.

She hesitantly walked closer to me and patted my stomach. By now everyone had been watching our little exchange, hypnotized by her cuteness.

She gave one quick peck to my 5 month looking stomach and dashed right back to Alice's side.

The party officially started with feeding the children. Esme and Edward were busy the whole day in the kitchen cooking spaghetti, lasagna, and other Italian foods. Nessie helped occasionally, too. The whole day was dedicated to the newest Cullen member. I don't know how everyone else felt, but for me, I was the happiest for Alice and Jasper. Things were really going well for those two. I noticed that as her siblings moved on, starting families, she looked just a little bit sullen. She probably felt the hole in her heart growing again, just like the first few years of her transformation, not remembering at all her human past. All that changed when she met Jasper and joined the Cullens. I've always known that Alice would make an exceptional mother. Seeing her so distressed in finding Ivee in time really reflected that. As for Ivee, it was obvious that somehow, someway she belonged in this family, like it was her destiny to be joined this way.

I had no doubt that she would fit right in with our family. She and Emmie were almost inseparable. The two had rooms of their own, but we found them sleeping together more often than not in either of the rooms. Ivee looked up greatly to Nessie as well. She was intrigued with her skill at playing the piano and she would always tug her shirt to play something or teach her. Rommel enjoyed her company as well. Surprisingly, despite her girly exterior, Ivee was very into sports. If she wasn't with Emmie or Nessie, she would be outside with Rommel and the rest of the guys playing with some sort of ball.

She had no trouble forgetting Jesse, that's for sure. She was really smart, too. When we left her in Alaska with Alice and Jasper, Alice reported that she was a really talented painter. All she had to do was watch the sunset for about 5 to 10 minutes and then within the next hour, the most perfectly creative interpretation of the sunset would be made.

The most astonishing of all would have to be her gift. I know she had never used it on any of us yet but I knew that one day it would be inevitable. Alice and I were looking through some magazines the other day and the topic of Ivee's power came up.

"She did what to Jesse?" I asked, my head shaking in disbelief.

"Well she was really mad that one day, when I had the vision of her fleeing, and she used her gift to manipulate him. Like actually control his thoughts and told him to swim far, far away."

"So wait, let me get this straight. She has the power to persuade? And if she gets furious, it gets so powerful that she can _control_ your mind?"

She nodded nonchalantly. Well I knew whose bad side I was to steer away from.

Alice saw my face and she laughed.

"Bella, don't worry. Jasper and I told her to never use her power for evil. She also knows the rules about humans and exposing our kind. She's smart, all of the children are. Oh Bella, you don't know how much I like the sound of all the children running around the house. Ever since Ivee came prancing into our lives, I've been more complete, jubilant and elated. Jasper and I should've adopted sooner," she rambled on and on.

I just smiled, still listening to her. In fact, all of our lives were more complete now. Edward and I loved Nessie dearly, more than our own lives and now we were expecting another bundle of nudges with Eddie coming soon. Then with the twins, Emmett and Rosalie became the parents that they always wanted to be. With Ivee, she brought out the maternal and paternal sides of her parents, which I would've never discovered.

Even with Nessie being born, Rosalie was like her second mother whereas Alice was the aunt that didn't know how to change diapers. Esme and Carlisle were the next to be completely overjoyed.

Esme loved cleaning, cooking and caring for her beloved grandchildren. She even did nightly tuck ins now. As for Carlisle, he took more time off from the hospital to spend time with the children, too.

The Cullen house was definitely full of happiness now a days. And to think that these children were thought to never even exist. Like what Rosalie said, "I guess this family is just blessed with miracles."

* * *

**I wrote 'precious little red tulip' as Jasper's response to Ivee because red tulips mean "perfect love" and I just thought it matched because Ivee was a perfect match to be Jasper and Alice's daughter because she makes the both of them feel more complete and such. Oh and red being that her hair is red... hehe**

**REVIEW please! :D**


	23. Chapter 23

**Renesmee's POV**

Chapter 23: Happy Anniversary (PART ONE)

It was August now, a few days until Momma and daddy's anniversary. And boy was her belly big! I was surprised that she could even walk. I was glad about one thing: she wasn't in pain. Her hormones, however, were raging. Every now and then she would just growl out of nowhere. Her anger would almost always be directed to Uncle Emmett for he was taking advantage of her mood swings. If she wasn't angry, she would unconditionally be affectionate.

"Oh, Nessie," Momma crooned. "You know how much I love you right? And how pretty you are? It's no wonder why Jacob is so head over heels for you," she said brushing my hair before tucking me in.

I smiled in amusement.

"I'm only pretty because I inherited it from you," I replied matter-of-factly.

Just then daddy appeared, leaning on my doorway with his arms crossed.

"I contributed to your beauty, too, Ness," he remarked with a smirk.

I giggled. "Oh, yeah. Sorry daddy. But thanks to you, I have gorgeous hair!" I replied bouncing cross-legged on my bed.

He joined us on my bed and I began speaking to him in my head.

(Did you and Poppa make the crib already?)

Momma was engrossed with my hair to notice his quick nod. My smile grew bigger.

It was nice for daddy to find the crib that once belonged to him when he was younger and use the wood to make a new one for Eddie. I knew that my mom would love it. She always enjoyed the sentimental values of the gifts that daddy gave her.

This was Ivee's first, big celebration with the family, not counting her homecoming a couple months back. She was stressing over what to get for my parents. Since she was such a talented artist, I suggested for her to make a portrait of my mom and dad. I loved how she came to me with her little troubles. In fact, Emmie and Rommel were worried about the same thing. Considering the three of us played an instrument, Gramma suggested we come up with something to perform for the party tomorrow night and we did. I would start with a light intro and Emmie would take over with the melody, but being the boy that Rommel was, he persisted in having a drum solo. We couldn't refuse since the whole time he would just be keeping count with the bass drum. We practiced a couple of times and I had to admit that we played was pretty good. Daddy listened in one time and he loved it. There was no use in keeping the gift a secret from him because of his mind reading but nevertheless, I was happy that he liked it. We couldn't wait to see my mom's reaction.

"I think she'd start tearing up," Rommel commented after practice the other day.

Emmie nodded profusely. "Her mood swings have been on over drive lately. I guess that means Eddie is coming soon," she replied, wiping down the rosin residue on her cello.

I was shaken from my daydream when I heard my mom suck in a quick breath. I twisted in my position to see her wincing and her hand clutching the fabric over her belly.

"Bella, what's wrong?" daddy asked, hovering protectively beside her.

"It's nothing. Eddie's just kicking away. Poor kid, it's probably awfully cramped in here," she answered with one hand behind her back and the other patting her huge stomach.

"Are you sure, momma? I'm sure Poppa can give you morphine or something to ease the pain. You know that we're prepared," I said getting up.

"No, no, there's no need. I'm fine," she waved off. I looked to daddy to see if I should proceed or not.

He was quiet for a while, either listening to my mom's thoughts or my baby brother's.

After a few moments of silence, he chuckled.

"It seems that your brother enjoys the sound of your voice," he mentioned gently rubbing momma's belly. My mom and I smiled at that.  
Now with every strand of my hair brushed, they kissed me goodnight and tucked me in tight. Tomorrow was going to be a long day of preparing for their big day.

* * *

I woke up feeling the warmth of the sunlight that peeked through my window. I dressed out of my pajamas in less than five minutes. I got downstairs to find my cousins already eating their breakfast on the island counter. The smell of bacon, waffles and the sweetness of syrup engulfed me. My dad was to take my mom out for the day so that we could decorate the backyard and such. We were expecting quite a lot of people with the wolves and the Redfords coming.

While I was enjoying my plate of bacon and waffles, the kitchen door opened and shut. I didn't even have to turn around to see who it was.  
Jacob was at my side in an instant and he planted a kiss on the top of my head. I wasn't surprised to find Seth greeting Emmie the same way.

"Hey, where's my kiss?" Rommel asked, playfully pouting. He resembled Uncle Emmett so much when he did that.

"Right here," Ivee answered pecking his cheek.

"Aww, thanks little cuz. Because of that, you get 2 kisses, one on each cheek."

We all smiled. I'm glad that we all got along so well.

"Jacob, Seth, why don't you sit and eat? I'm sure you two are starving," Gramma offered.

"Don't mind if we do," Jacob replied, having 2 stacks of waffles already piled on his plate.

After we were all done eating, we thanked Gramma and started making our way out back. We found the enormous grass area completely covered with a dance floor and a DJ booth not too far away. Tonight was going to be a lot of fun judging from all this get up.  
We all had duties for the day. My grandparents were to be in the kitchen for a good amount of time, cooking for the party. As for me, my cousins, Jake and Seth, we were to do the lights, hanging them everywhere, including the trees nearby.

We didn't have much trouble so we were done in no time. We didn't feel like practicing, so we played video games until we were called to get dressed.

* * *

**I only called this part one because I knew that I haven't posted since forever...and so here's what I got so far.****  
****I haven't done any homework yet and I have church tomorrow so I don't really know when part 2 will be up. Sorry guys...**


	24. Chapter 24

**Renesmee's POV**

Chapter 24: Happy Anniversary (PART TWO)

Like every party Aunt Alice planned, it began quite smoothly and cunningly. Daddy brought momma right at twilight and when we saw them approaching, we lit all the lights that we worked hard on putting up everywhere. Daddy, of course, was in on the surprises already but it pleased me to their faces brighten up, as if they totally forgot it was their anniversary.

"Happy anniversary momma!" I said, dashing straight to her.

"Thank you, baby girl," she cooed.

"Happy anniversary, daddy," I greeted tippy toeing to kiss his cheek.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

The rest of the greetings began, right on timing. We were due to perform in about an hour. In the meantime, I wanted to be with Jacob. I literally haven't seen him for months. The afternoon we spent together with Seth and my cousins wasn't enough. I mean we haven't kissed in like forever.

"Hey, you," I said coming up from behind him; he was already making his way over to the tables of food a couple feet from the DJ Booth. My uncles would alternate spinning the music.

"Oh, hey there pretty lady," he replied turning around so that his hands we snaking my waist.

He leaned down and gave me two pecks on my lips and one on my nose. I giggled and we continued making our way to the line forming around the table of delicious food my grandparents slaved over practically the whole day.

Jacob and I got our food and we sat with Seth and my cousins. We chatted about this and that, trying to distract ourselves from our nervousness. I honestly don't know why we were so twitchy. Ivee sensed that something was up so she called her dad over. Sure enough, our moods lifted and it helped untangle the nerves. Uncle Emmett and Rommel would go and carry the piano over to the middle of the dance floor right before our performance. All that Emmie had to do was help her brother set up the drums since her cello needed no tending to.

While we ate, I looked around, examining the expressions on everyone's faces. Although it was my parents' anniversary, there was no denying all the explicit love that was diffusing throughout the atmosphere tonight. Having Jacob by my side again filled me with the warmth that had been absent for quite a long time since he's been gone with his pack for a good majority of the time nowadays. And with Emmie completely oblivious to Seth's reason for being with her all time, there was no question that they truly enjoyed each other's company and that as she grew, her feelings were slowly developing for him as it did for me with Jake.

Then there were my grandparents. They held each other by the waists and would occasionally glance at all of us, probably reveling in the life that was happily theirs, with all the children and grandchildren that they could possibly want. My aunts and uncles had no shame in showing some of their affection towards each other. Apparently it was Uncle Emmett's shift to man the songs while Uncle Jasper was sitting down on one of the white benches spewed all over the back yard and he had Aunt Alice sitting on his lap, her arms tight around his neck. Under this lighting, it was as if my family had a particular luminous luster in their physical appearance, my parents having the brightest of them all, especially my mom. Maybe it was that certain "glow" pregnant women get. Whatever it was, everyone at the party seemed affected by it. I like to think of it as universal love.

Sam and Emily arrived a little late but my best guess was that she wasn't feel all too well because of her pregnancy. My mom was lucky to just have the raging mood swings. I saw Poppa greeting them and Momma coming over, thanking them for coming. I smiled when I saw Emily and my mom touching each other's bellies.

I was excited to find that the Auvril and Stephan along with their children Anne and Ethan were here as well. Ethan was 6 and Anne was 4. I was expecting them to be shy, like any other human children but it was clear they weren't. Right when they arrived, they tore away from their parents and approached us. They came a couple hours early because they wanted to help with anything they could. Of course with a full house of vampires planning a party, little to no help was needed. So instead they played video games with us for the afternoon, well more like watched. Naturally, Ethan felt more comfortable with Rommel since he was the only one physically similar to him. As for Anne, she grew attached to Ivee quite rapidly.

The Denali's were present at the party, too. At first, they used to be apprehensive when it came to parties because they knew that seeing the wolves would be inevitable but over time they became comfortable with them being here. They understood that they were basically our family now, too, and so they felt obliged to let bygones be bygones.

And then there was Kamielle. It was weird to finally meet the woman who poisoned me but had no personal intention on doing so; she was, after all, just following orders. She was really pleasant, actually. She and Poppa were pretty close, since they were with the Volturi together. I was still eating when she approached me with daddy on her side.

"Ness, this is Kamielle," daddy said gesturing me to acknowledge her properly.

I stood up from my seat and so did Jacob. I honestly had nothing against her. She saved my life in the end so her dues were paid. Obviously for Jacob, some things are left unforgiven.

"Hi, Kamielle," I greeted her with a sincere smile. I didn't have to check why my dad let out a small growl since Jake's grip tightened around me.

"Hello, Renesmee. Oh, you don't know how ashamed I am right now. I don't deserve your kindness. It's totally okay with me if you don't speak to me for the rest of the night. In fact, I don't even mind that your mate is glaring at me right now. I deserve it," she replied, her head bowing slightly.

"So what are you doing here in the first place?" Jacob spat out before I had a chance to answer her.

"Well if you _must_ know, I just couldn't refuse the invitation. It would've been really rude of me to not at least make an appearance and greet Edward and Bella. I may be over 100 years old but my culture is still important to me," she answered politely.

I waited for Jake to respond again but he didn't. The daggers he was shooting towards her, however, didn't stop.

"Kamielle," I said as I managed to escape Jacob's hold and take her hands in mine.

"You don't have to be ashamed. I know that you didn't mean to poison me. We can't change the past so let's not drown in it. I've forgiven you 100%. I was actually very interested in meeting you because Momma said you were physically different than all the other vampires we've met."  
Her smile was relieved, and then it became amused.

"I'm so glad to hear that you've forgiven me. As for my appearance, I guess I'm the only Danag in the whole Pacific Northwest. So I'm thinking I should leave you to continue eating. Don't worry I'll be here all night; we'll talk later."

A minute later I was still standing next to a fuming boyfriend.

"Jake, cut her some slack. She was apologized and I accepted it. I'm alive now, remember, let's not relish in the past but the present and _our_ future," I said trying to get him to calm down. I didn't want him to phase in front of everyone, especially at my parents' anniversary.

Thankfully what I said indeed calmed him down.

He heaved a big sigh and we sat back down to finish dinner. Seth and my cousins didn't seem affected by our little exchange.  
Once everyone had eaten, it was time for some dancing. My mom's stomach was a little too big for her and daddy to dance close like they usually do. Thankfully Uncle Jasper was behind the DJ Booth now. Who knows what kind of song Uncle Emmett would've played for my parents' first dance.

Everyone joined in after that; the dance floor was pretty huge. Jacob and I swayed gently from side to side while my Gramma and Poppa twirled gracefully around all the guests. I found it cute how Emmie was dancing with her brother while Seth danced with Ivee, well all he had to do was carry her since she was a lot shorter than Seth was. I was too busy smiling at everyone that Jake had to catch my attention with his lips on my neck.

"I wish that smile of yours was directed at me. Maybe I should get dancing lessons from your dad huh?" he asked.

I chuckled lightly.

"Sorry, it's just that I can't help but gravitate towards everyone's happiness tonight," I replied.

"S'okay. I'm just relieved to have you in my arms again," he said as his arms tightened around my waist. "AND to see that you don't mind my two-left feet."

I laughed. "Well you're not Bella Cullen's daughter remember?" I asked.

"Hey, I heard that, missy," Momma said, appearing suddenly beside us with her arms still around daddy's neck. All he had on his face was an amused smile.

"Why don't we switch partners for a while? I'm pretty sure Nessie wants to show off her dancing skills and I know that Bella wants at least one dance with her best friend," Daddy suggested.

With that, I was in daddy's arm in one fluid movement and in the next second we were stepping and twirling all over the place.

"Hmmm..." he hummed.

"What daddy?" I asked, our surroundings a blur from our dance.

"I remember how when you were little you used to step on my shoes and I would twirl you around that way," he answered, his tone slightly dejected.

"Would you like for me to do that now?" I asked, joking.

He smirked but picked me up so that my feet were on his. I didn't mind it when daddy suddenly caught nostalgia fever. I'd never really admitted it before but I miss being really young. But it was nice to see how things always worked out in the end. Just look at how Emmie and Rommel developed and how they made Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett so much happier. Ivee wasn't excluded from the additional happiness of my family either and then there was my brother who we couldn't wait to arrive.

We were well into 4 hours of partying. Our performance was a hit. Everyone applauded and we even got a standing ovation. The perfect ending to our song was the light show that Auvril helped Anne and Ethan conduct. Tonight was very well a magical night. The rest of the gifts were passed out as well. Ivee showcased her work and everyone was in awe, including me. I've seen a good amount of her work before and they were good, but this was really extraordinary. It was almost like a photograph rather than a portrait she painted herself.

Gramma and Poppa got them a ticket to Switzerland. We don't think there are any caves filled with fertility gems there.  
As for Aunt Rosalie and Uncle Emmett, they got them an intricate family tree with picture frames already hung in their places. Aunt Alice and Uncle Jasper gave them personalized stuffed animals of them. They even added the fangs and everyone laughed at that.  
Lots more gifts were given, all from the Denali's, Kamielle, and the Redfords. The last gifts that were passed out were from Momma and daddy themselves. Like we all expected, my mom became overwhelmed with the crib that daddy and Poppa made for Eddie. She thanked him a million times before she gave him her gift. It was a big photo album.

She managed to recovery some pictures of daddy when he was still human. He was caught off guard entirely. If he had the ability to cry, he would've supplied enough water to cover the Sahara desert.

Tonight so magical that we didn't even notice that my Grandpa Charlie wasn't here yet when Sue was. He had to work over time tonight but he said he was going to be here an hour ago. I wasn't worried but my mom couldn't stop fidgeting.

"Love, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. He's probably looking for a last minute anniversary gift," Daddy joked.

"I don't know; I just have a really bad feeling," Momma answered.

The night continued on and still no Grandpa. Now I was getting worried. Leah tried to get a hold of him by calling the police station but all they said was that the officers on duty with him still haven't returned either because of a drug store being burglarized. Everyone was still dancing, having a great time with Uncle Jasper behind the booth.

And then just when the night was ending on a good note, Aunt Alice had that haze in her face.

I was dancing with Jacob when I saw her run quickly towards my mom and dad. I tore away from Jake to hear the horrid news.

"Bella, Charlie just got shot on duty."


	25. Chapter 25

**Bella's POV**

Chapter 25: Either Way...

I couldn't properly assess the words that spilled out of Alice's mouth. I took it in but they became jumbled up and were swishing around in my head like a boat trapped in the middle of the sea during a tempest.

Ness was well nearing hysteria whereas I was still too shocked, the blow not entirely affecting me. Everyone around me started to hustle, moving here and there while Edward tried to wake me from my frozen stance.

"Love? Love? Are you alright? Answer me, Bella, please," Edward's velvet voice murmured, begging.

My breathing sped in response.

My dad. Charlie. He couldn't die, not yet.

"Let's go. I need to see him; he needs me," I said, already on the move.

"Bella, wait!" I was already running. Unfortunately with a baby bump you can't get very far.

"Bella, it's not as bad as you think. Just calm down, okay? Carlisle has the car ready."

I nodded, letting him drag me back to the house where I found Seth and Leah consoling their mother, Sue.

She must be more devastated than me. Their wedding was planned for this October. She'd lost one husband already and it would be such a pity for her to lose Charlie when their "I Do's" were just a few months away.

I was making my way over, to comfort her, but Alice intercepted.

"Bella," she breathed, her eyes filled with terror.

Before I could ask what she saw, Carlisle was beside me in an instant.

"Bella, I got a call from the hospital. I'm afraid he's in a critical condition; he's lost quite a lot of blood. You can come with me but with your pregnancy I'm not sure if you'll be physically up for it," Carlisle said, his eyes serious.

"I have to see him. He can't die, Carlisle. Please...please don't let him die," I whispered, the tears threatening to come. I thought I was done with the weird human abnormalities but apparently not. Whatever I was feeling was affecting my baby, too.

"Eddie vaguely knows what's happening. He's just worried about you," Edward said at my side, supporting my weight.

"We have to hurry. The operation won't start without me. Bella, Edward," Carlisle called exiting the house and heading to his Mercedes.

"Momma!" Nessie called from Jacob's lap. Her face was riddled with tears as well.

"Tell Grandpa to hold on and that I love him so much," she said, barely a whisper.

I nodded and we left.

* * *

Within 10 minutes, Edward and I were arrived at the hospital with Carlisle. We had to stay in the ER waiting area.  
Edward tried to get me to sit. Anyone that passed us by would always make a double-take.

I could only guess it was because I was so big and I wasn't even showing the slightest discomfort while I paced back and forth a little too fast for a human.

5 minutes past. 10, 30 and 45. Carlisle still didn't come out from the pale green double doors.

We weren't alone waiting for the verdict. Sue arrived not long after us with Seth, Leah and Shaun.

I finally gave up and just sat beside Edward, burying my face in my hands. If my father died, I swear I would torture those men who held the drug store hostage. My rage flared and the venom in my mouth was spreading. The only thing that distracted me from my maddening trance was the kicking in my lower abdomen. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't pleasant either. I really hoped I wasn't going into labor here.

"Eddie, it's okay. I'm sorry if you're feeling cramped. But this isn't the place to come out yet," I murmured onto my stomach, rubbing it for assurance.

I was aware that Edward was staring at me the whole time. I turned to him for any response.

"Eddie's just as anxious as you are," he said with a small smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"Bella?" Sue called.

I went over to her and plopped down. I had a long night. If I were able to sleep, I'd be in a coma by now.

"How're you holding up, Sue?" I asked. She was always more fragile than me.

"I'm fine," she said with her voice cracking.

"I'm so full of worry. I don't know what I would do without your father, Bella. I'm scared to lose him," she said with her head shaking.

She began sobbing and I rubbed her back. And then a thought occurred to me.

What if she didn't have to lose him? There was always _that_ option. But would I dare give the life I rightfully chose for myself for my own father?  
The double doors were suddenly pushed open and out came Carlisle with another man moving my father towards the ICU section.

"Carlisle?" Sue and I asked at the exact same time.

He sighed before answering.

"It was a tough operation but we managed to get the bullet out. Like I said earlier, he lost a significant amount of blood. We're going to keep a close watch on him but he should be out for quite a while."

Sue let out a sigh of relief but I wasn't content. I knew that he was hiding something crucial.

"What are the chances of Charlie recovering?" I asked, half afraid of his answer because I already knew his answer.

"That's what I wanted to discuss with the both of you," he replied and motioned for us to come closer into the halls.

He lowered his voice and said, "I'm terribly sad to say it but I honestly don't think he can survive this. I promise you that I will do anything I can to make him comfortable the bullet wound was just awfully close to his heart and it punctured the aorta."

He paused to look at me but continued. "For me, the only way I can think of to revive him is if—"

"He becomes one of you," Sue interrupted, finally following where Carlisle was going.

We were all quiet for a while. I couldn't decide on that for now. I knew that my dad didn't belong in this life. I introduced him into my world simply because I couldn't bear to close him out of my life like I was supposed to do when I was turned. He was my father and I loved him. If Carlisle changed him then many things would change. I don't think I have the heart to deprive him from Sue and the new beginning he was supposed to start with her. I just don't know how their relationship with work if he became like me and with Sue being the mother of two werewolves.

"Do whatever you can to bring him back to me. Even if that means I'll have to marry a vampire," Sue said, tearing me away from my thoughts.  
We all stared at her dumbfounded but I know she was serious. I could see it in her eyes that she truly loved my dad. Carlisle nodded and turned to me.

"I don't think it's what Charlie would want. It's just...I mean... can I just see him first?" I said. I was just so torn. Carlisle nodded and I made my way to his room with Edward silently following me.

I peeked in, carefully sniffing the room to check my control. The smell of sedatives and alcohol overpowered anything else.  
I came in slowly, thinking that any sudden movement would wake him from his rest, and sat down on the chair directly across the foot of his bed. I would sit here for as long as it took my dad to wake up.

**THE COUPLE OF DAYS**  
I've never seen my dad so weak and pale. I don't know how long we've actually been at the hospital but it felt like an eternity. I know it didn't do anything but I covered him in my shield. I temporarily forgot that by doing this, Edward heard all my thoughts. As much as I hated seeing my father this way, I hated the fact that Edward was suffering beside me.

"Bella, don't think of me. I'm only getting depressed because you're feeling depressed," he started.  
"Love, I know that you're hurting right now and you're entitled to feeling that way. But you have to understand that sulking here isn't doing anything. I don't think it's healthy for Eddie either."

I pursed my lips thoughtfully. (Are you saying that I should tell Carlisle to change Charlie?)

He didn't reply right away but when he did, he nodded with a pained expression.

I looked to my father and watched his chest rise and fall. "Healthy as a horse, Bells" ran through my head.

I took a big gulp. Was changing my dad the right thing to do? He would still be my dad and I'm sure his feelings for Sue wouldn't vanish. I think I would dread burying my father more than seeing him go through the transformation. Before I got go through with my decision, Charlie started stirring in his bed.

I was beside him in one fluid movement. He was moaning like he was in pain.

"Dad? Are you okay? What do you want me to get?" I asked, my shield still protecting him. If only it could shield his pain.

"Bella? Is that you?" he asked, fully opening his eyes.

"Yeah, dad, it's me," I breathed relieved.

"I was thinking you were an angel," he huffed. I smiled. Good ole Charlie.

"How are you feeling?" I asked while Carlisle knocked and Edward opened the door.

"Stiff. And drowsy. What kind of medication they got me taking?" he replied, looking to Carlisle.

"Just the normal sedatives like morphine," he answered, his tone happy to see Charlie acting like himself. "It's good to see you up. You sure you don't feel any pain? Specifically in your chest?"

"Well it does kinda feel a little tender..." he mumbled. As he said that, we all heard his heart speed, faster than the usual human rate. He gasped, clutching his heart and then his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Dad?" I yelled desperately.

Nurses started filing in while Carlisle worked diligently over him. Edward had to drag me out into the hall so that I wasn't in the way.

This was it. I knew it by the feeble beating of my father's heart; time was running out.

"Edward," I whispered. His arms were around me in the same second.

"Do you think he'd be in less pain if they put him to sleep first? I don't see how we can move him to the house now if we're going to change him. Oh, I can believe this is happening. I can't lose him, Edward, I can't," I said, silently sobbing against his shoulder.

"Maybe you don't have to lose him either way, as a vampire or a human," he answered.

"What do you mean?" I asked, parting from our embrace so that I can examine his face. He was staring above my head, behind me.

A few seconds later, Kamielle appeared from the corner. She locked eyes with us and she was beside us in an instant.

"Am I too late?" she asked, squinting into the window of Charlie's room.

Edward was the one to answer. I didn't know what was happening. Was Kamielle going to change my father?

"I don't think so. But we have to hurry. Hand me the elixir," he ordered her.

She did as she was told and before he entered the room, he looked to me.

"Everything will be okay, Bella, I promise you, love."

His words rang in my head. Carlisle was still hovering over my father but he looked like he knew what Edward was doing in there with him. Eddie started kicking again, as if he was excited. I was just plain restless.

And then I finally understood what was happening. Carlisle replaced the dripping morphine with the elixir and after a few excruciating moments later his heart beat went back to normal.

I breathed a sigh of relief and hugged Kamielle so tight that if she were human, her bones would've been broken all over.  
Before I knew it, Sue, Nessie and Jacob, along with the others gathered around the window. We waited in anticipation.

"He's stable now; his vitals look good..." we heard Carlisle say.

"Momma, Grandpa's going to be okay right?" Nessie asked as she was hugging Esme since Sue was holding onto Jake.

"See for yourself," Kamielle answered her. We all checked to find Charlie starting to sit up.

"Whatever that sedative was, it really worked. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to use the bathroom," was all he said. I shook my head in amusement and pure solace.

My dad was okay, better than before it seemed. Sue was the first one to dash into his room. For now, I needed to rest. The past couple of days were hard on me and I'm pretty sure Eddie would really appreciate it if I ate something.

I checked on Charlie one last time before we all returned to the house to get some well needed break.


	26. Chapter 26

** Renesmee's POV**

CH26: THE SHOWER

I was so thankful for Kamielle and Auvril. If it wasn't for them teaming up in concocting the elixir, my Granpda wouldn't be alive right now or would be a vampire. I honestly had no objection on him being turned but it was obvious that momma didn't want that for him.  
They left not long after his miraculous recovery. I was sad to see them go, but we all promised to keep in touch.

A month passed and he healed pretty quickly. Apparently whatever was in the elixir made him really energetic. Nearly every day I'd find him in the living room watching sports with Rommel and my uncles, jumping up and down from touch downs and hollering from missed plays. Occasionally Seth and Jacob would come over too. Seth and Emmie would always be off somewhere in the backyard or the beach and just run around and play. The twins still looked to be about 9 or 10. As for me, I looked closer to 16 or 17 considering my 6th birthday being only a couple days away.

Sue must've felt like time was closing in and she didn't want to take another chance of losing Grandpa so I wasn't surprised to see her around the house, too, with her wedding next month. She requested for Aunt Alice to work everything out and of course she was delighted to have another planning obligation.

If you asked me, Ivee and Aunt Alice bonded really well when there was an event to plan. She being the talented artist that she was, Ivee nearly knew which colors coordinated well with others. And so the color scheme for Sue and Grandpa's wedding was medium champagne and a bright guava color. Seth, of course, would be walking her down the aisle and Leah would be her maid of honor. It wasn't going to be a huge, extravagant ceremony but a very intimate and elegant one. Both the ceremony and reception would be held at La Push, where they would say their "I Do's" just as the sun was setting, very romantic.

Sue was a little into her late 30s but to me, she was still very beautiful. Even if she wasn't my real grandma, I loved her like one. There was no doubt that she loved my Grandpa Charlie and that was all that mattered.

If Aunt Alice wasn't working on wedding plans, she was either working on my birthday or the baby shower that was due soon. Momma requested that instead of celebrating her 26th birthday, of course she didn't look a day over 18, she wanted a baby shower for Eddie. She never got to do it for me since it only took a month for me to come out and so she wanted to do it the normal way.

"Come on, Bella! I'm perfectly capable of doing Sue and Charlie's wedding, Nessie's and your birthday, AND your baby shower," Aunt Alice admitted, following momma around the house like a lost puppy.

"Alice," momma sighed. "I just don't see a reason for celebrating Nessie's birthday one day, mine on another day, and then my baby shower a couple days after. I'd be too exhausted. And if you ask me," she paused to stretch and rest her hands on her globe-sized stomach, "the pain has been coming more often and I think it means this little guy is ready to come out. I know I am."

Momma gave up trying to lure Aunt Alice here and there so she sat down across from me in the dining room table.

She frowned at my mom, but didn't argue.

"If you put it that way..." she answered, dejected.

I was just silently enjoying my peach yogurt, sitting cross-legged and observant. We were all quiet but my mom looked thoughtful. Before I got a chance to ask, momma spoke.

"Tell you what, Alice; you plan my baby shower for my birthday and you can go through with whatever you have planned for Halloween. You can dress Eddie in whatever you want, too, okay?"

Aunt Alice clapped and jumped in glee.

Just then we were joined by Jacob and daddy. I turned my head back to find that Aunt Alice was gone.

"Ivee, honey, I need your help!" she called. I chuckled and all of a sudden I felt warm lips brush my cheek. Before they retreated completely, I made sure to kiss them properly.

"Hey there beautiful," he greeted me while he pulled out the chair next to me. I was aware of my parents' stares so I pretended that the chills going up and down my spine from Jacob's voice were nothing. There hasn't been any danger lately so Jake's been coming over more often. Paul was well suited to be Alpha for now anyway.

"So did we hear right?" Daddy asked while he helped my mom get up. It was obvious that she was, indeed, going into labor soon. Poppa's even been home more.

"Yeah. You know how that sister of yours insists and insists. Besides, I can tell that Eddie's excited. He's been kicking almost nonstop now. I hope we can get through the baby shower without any problems."

I was listening to them but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Jacob. He was very close to me and I haven't seen enough of him. I heard daddy growl at my thoughts but I didn't care.

"C'mon Jake, let's go to the hammock," I said with him in tow. Thankfully my dad didn't follow us.

"What was that all about?" he asked as we laid next to each other.

I cuddled onto him and breathed in his scent until my nose was thoroughly saturated with it.

"Nothing," I muffled into his shoulder.

"Okay," he answered.

We stayed quiet for a long time. After a while I heard him snoring. I propped myself on my elbow to watch him carefully. His face was so cute when he was asleep. I stretched a little more so that I could place a kiss on his cheek. He sighed and smiled, but he kept his eyes closed. I didn't mind it when we did this. Being in his arms was enough for me.

As he snored away I began introspecting.

The scattered pieces of my life were finally coming together. I had the most amazing boyfriend who made me shudder from his voice and touch. I had the most loving family anywhere and it just keeps on growing. I was beyond happy when I found out my mom was pregnant. It was nice to have Rommel, Emmie and now Ivee but Eddie was _actually _my brother. I mean I wished and wished, knowing that it was just wishful thinking because it was known that vampires couldn't reproduce but now that it was coming true any day now I was just ecstatic. In fact, I was more excited for his birth than my own party. I sighed in satisfaction. To my astonishment, today was overly cloudy. Patches of baby blue were visible and it made my mood even lighter. Everything seemed to be coming together quite nicely.

_**SEPTEMBER 13  
THE BABY SHOWER**_

For the last couple of days momma was in so much pain that all you heard were her muffled cries. It was excruciating for her but if anything, daddy was suffering as much as she was. He hated nothing but seeing my mom in pain. We were expecting for her to go into labor yesterday but nothing, just pure, piercing, agony.

It was odd how the pain started right after all my guests were gone from my birthday party. *

Then right at midnight last night, the house was filled with silence. I was up staring at my high ceiling because I couldn't sleep. I become worried; I hope nothing bad happened.

To be sure of it, I swiftly got out of my bed and went over to my parent's room. I didn't even have to knock because daddy was at the door in the same second.

"Daddy, what happened? Is everything alright?" I asked him, trying to sneak a peek into their room.  
"Ness, you have nothing to worry about. Now go on and get some rest. We have a long day today. I hope we can all get through this baby shower," he sighed, actually leaning against the doorway like he needed the support.

"Can I say happy birthday to momma first?" I asked under my batting lashes.

He smirked and moved out of my way. I found my mom sitting upright with dozens of pillows supporting her back. She was also sipping her cup of blood quite happily.

"Hi, momma," I said carefully climbing onto bed with her.

"Hey, sweetie," she croaked.

"You sound awful," I commented as she placed her cup on her night stand.

"I know, but thankfully I'm feeling fine. Maybe Eddie knows that it's my birthday..." she mentioned.

"Good," I yawned. I didn't want to admit it but I haven't gotten that much sleep ever since the pains started.

"Well I came in to check up on you and to greet you a very happy birthday. Oh, momma you're going to love what today has in store you for you!" I exclaimed.

I really wanted to hug her but I didn't wish to jostle her in any way; I didn't want to take any chances of triggering the pain.

"Thank you, baby girl," she answered, blowing kisses my way.

"I'll see you later on today. Bye momma, bye Eddie."

Before I left their room, daddy's arms claimed me.

"Rest up, sweetheart."

"Thanks, daddy. And don't worry, I will."

By the time I woke up it was around noon. I shot up from my bed once I keep into the realization that I had slept in a full 12 hours. Aunt Alice was going to bite my head off for not helping her!

I got dressed quickly and nearly slammed into Uncle Emmett who was heading down the hall as well.

"Why so jumpy kiddo?" he asked steadying me in amusement.

"Aunt Alice is going to kill me! I woke up late and I was supposed to help her with everything today," I answered, exasperated.

"Don't worry about it, Emmie and Ivee got you covered. We all knew the last few days have been hard on you and your dad, especially. I think they're just about finished with the decorations, so chill," he said as we walked down the stairs together. We found the whole living room floor covered with light blue balloons. Since momma's pains were coming in close intervals lately we wanted to be safe and have the party in the afternoon.

Guests started flooding in about an hour after I woke up. Kamielle and the Redfords couldn't come but the Denali's came again. Another pleasant surprise was finding Zafrina enter from the front door carrying a huge bow-wrapped box.

We found out later that the box contained a wooden rocking horse made out of the wood from the strong capirona tree.

Other gifts included various toys and clothes. Overall, it was a nice celebration, filled with lots of laughs and joy. Momma very well aware of her party but what was unexpected was when Uncle Emmett came in, interrupting the opening of the gifts and everyone burst into loud guffaws.

He was dressed as a big baby with only a diaper, a bonnet, and some booties on. It was beyond hysterical. We were laughing so much that we almost didn't hear him say: "Don't tell me I've never done anything for you."

When the laugher died down I noticed my mom suck in a sharp breath. Her hand instinctively clutched her stomach and then it happened.

Blood oozed down from her legs and her eyes were filled with utter panic.

"Momma!"  
"Bella!"  
Oh my god, Bella!" everyone roared.

Daddy was quick to snatch her away and bring her up the stairs to Poppa's office, where the delivery bed had been prepared a good long time ago.

After a while, the screaming started again. This was it. My birthday wish was coming true; my brother was going to be born on my mother's birthday...

* * *

***remember this little mark in the text? well I just wanted to make a small indication. So when I was writing this chapter, I wanted it to revolve around Bella's pregnancy. But then again, this story is as much Renesmee's as it is with Bella. And so I decided to make an alternate chapter in the 'extras' tab I have going on in my blogspot... check it out! It's about Renesmee's birthday. This chapter would've been way too long if I combined Bella's birthday/baby shower AND Nessie's bday so yeah.**  
**Enjoy! :)**

**take a look at my profile so that you'll know where to go :)**


	27. Chapter 27

**Bella's POV**

Chapter 27: Emerald Green

Before I knew it, my surroundings changed. I wasn't opening gifts anymore. I wasn't laughing cheerfully with my friends and family. Now, I was in agonizing pain and I vaguely felt myself getting stripped down to just my bare skin. The cut on my stomach that was Edward's doing was no comparison to the harrowing ripping within me. This discomfort made me realize that my pregnancy was dangerous after all. I was a vampire but all my senses began to fade as Edward and Carlisle worked over me.

Slowly but surely, it felt as if I began to fade as well.

"Bella, stop thinking that way," I heard Edward say to me fiercely.

I couldn't understand how he was able to read my mind when my shield almost never faltered. Just then, my body began to heat up. It started from the very tips of my toes and it trickled up. By the time it reached my face, my stomach felt empty. A second later, I heard gurgled cries.  
Thankfully right when Eddie was taken out of me, all the pain ceased. I got up to find my newborn son being wiped down by Carlisle. I was making my way to them but Edward caught my wrist.

"Edward," I looked to him confusingly.

"Love, you're naked. Here," he said amused. "Put this on."

He handed me a light blue chiffon dress, along with underwear and a bra. I swiftly put them on so that I could see the son I've always wanted.  
Edward and I waited patiently as we could for Carlisle to be done with dressing and measuring him. I looked to my husband to find his expression joyous but hard. He was smiling but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Edward," I said, "what's wrong?"

"He's growing at a much faster rate than Renesmee," he answered a little frustrated.

"I'm afraid he's right, Bella," Carlisle said coming towards us with Eddie bundled up.

"But let's not worry about this now. We have another birthday to celebrate."

I couldn't help but be completely terrified for my son's health, just as I was when Renesmee was born. But he was right; I wanted nothing but to welcome this precious baby boy Edward and I brought into our world.

The very moment I laid eyes on the most perfect emerald green eyes, my breath staggered. His hair was of my complexion but those eyes were all Edward, if he were still human.

I was carrying him now with Edward and Carlisle hovering very close beside me. I noticed all of the little things, like how his skin was nearly as transparent as ours but soft just like a baby should be. Like Renesmee, he was a fair combination of my and Edward's features. It looked as if he inherited my hair and lips whereas his nose and eyes were perfectly Edward's. I swayed him gently to and fro and he just loved it. He giggled and reached out to play with a lock of my hair. The cutest smile and tiny dimples showcased and I was just amazed.

"Edward Masen Cullen. Eddie for short. Do you like that, my darling baby boy?" I cooed while stroking his perfectly round cheeks.  
To my utter astonishment, he reached for my neck and projected his thoughts, exactly how Nessie does.

(Yes, Momma. I like having daddy's name.)

"Edward!" I gasped.

By this time, the rest of my family began piling in. I wasn't surprised to find the evidence of my giving labor were all gone.

"I wanna see Eddie, mommy! I wanna see!" Ivee rang beside Alice while tugging at Jasper's shirt.

"We all do, sweetheart," Jasper answered his daughter, going down to her eye level.

"Before we do all the greetings, we have to address one issue," Carlisle said motioning for me to hand Eddie over to him.

"Bella," he asked, "how are you feeling?"

I thought about it and realized that I felt just fine, completely back to normal.

"I'm fine. I know I probably have a more defined scar now but I don't mind it at all," I answered.

Carlisle nodded and continued: "As for Eddie, he seems just fine as well. I'm happy to say that he's quite healthy and from the looks of the incident earlier, he's talented, too."

"He has a power?" Nessie squealed in excitement.

Edward was the one to answer.

"Indeed, he does and it appears he has the same power as yours."

Everyone's eyebrows shot up.

"This makes sense because Eddie is the offspring of Edward and Bella. He was biologically conceived just like Renesmee and so they are half Edward and Bella. The combination of their powers suggests being the projection of thoughts," Carlisle explained.

"Cool!" Nessie exclaimed. It was funny how she was very near in reaching her maturity of 7 years when at times she still acted very childish.  
"Can I hold him, Poppa?" she asked eagerly.

"I call next!" Emmie called.

"Me, too!" Rommel and Ivee announced together.

While the children fussed over Eddie, all of the adults came together. Esme and Rose were the first to claim me.

"Oh, Bella, he's absolutely gorgeous! Congratulations, sweetheart," Esme said engulfing me with her embrace.

"You're going to have your hands full now with 2 running around. You're lucky Ness is growing up to be an amazing young lady. But don't worry, you know I'll help you babysit," Rose said smirking.

"Thank you," I replied wholeheartedly. "But I just can't help but worry about him either. He's growing at a much faster rate, it seems. Just look at him; does he _look_ like a newborn. I know I blanked out right after giving birth to Nessie but I remember her being small and fragile like a newborn."

"Don't sweat it, little sis," Emmett stalled. "So he grows a little faster, big deal. Boys usually do. Plus he's more vampire than anything which means he's indestructible."

"He's right, love," Edward breathed next to me. "We don't need to worry so much. Stephan and Auvril are just a drive away if we have any major concerns."

I pursed my lips thoughtfully. Having my family reassure that everything would be fine helped ease my anxiety. I guess finally having the son of my dreams scared me a little. It just felt too good to be true; he was unquestionably perfect.

"Come on, let's go downstairs. I'm sure the guests would love to meet the newest Cullen," Alice said, her eyes twinkling with delight.  
"Uncle Edward! Eddie said he wants you," Ivee called as we began exiting Carlisle's office.

She looked even tinier holding her baby cousin.

Edward was quick to retrieve our son.

"Why aren't you a sturdy one?" Edward observed playfully.

Right then and there, Eddie's face turned crabby with the most adorable pout.

I laughed and pinched his cheeks.

"That's a good thing, sweetie. Now go on and turn that frown upside down," I said and in the same time he giggled and called out: "Momma!"  
I smiled and reached for him. We were downstairs by now and the minute everyone saw Eddie, sounds of awe and wonder diffused throughout the room.

"You've got quite a big boy in your hands, Bells," I heard my dad say from behind me. "Can I hold him?"

Eddie's skin was brushing with mine so I was still in contact with his thoughts.

(He smells yummy) I heard him say.

"Umm, I think it's best if Edward and I feed him first. He said you smell yummy," I answered him with laughter in my voice.  
Ironically, my father wasn't weirded out with what I just said to him. I'm glad that he adjusted to my lifestyle considerably fast. Thankfully my husband was already walking towards us with a covered baby bottle filled with donated blood that we stocked up on.

Once he was fed, I felt better with him being carried by the others. After all, most of my guests were human.

Eddie looked to have the same charm and magic as Renesmee had. Everyone couldn't keep their hands off of him. I couldn't blame, though, because he was so angelically captivating. It wasn't soon until Leah came to me with a snoring baby boy.

"So I see that he sleeps. He's showing lots of similarities with hybrids, that's for sure," she said placing him gently into my arms.

"Yeah, I know. If anything he grows more rapidly than they ever did."

She nodded and replied, "I see what you mean. He looks around 2 to 3 months old and you just gave birth to him, like, 5 hours ago!"

"I just hope that this is normal for his kind."

"I hope so, too, Bella. But hey, it's getting late and I just wanted to let you know that we're leaving. We'll see you all soon, okay?"  
With that, we hugged and most of the wolves left, including Seth and Jake.

The Denali's were the next to leave not long after Leah and the rest.

"Happy, happy birthday dearest Bella and precious little Edward Masen. I'm afraid it's time for us to depart as well. The holidays aren't that far behind so in no time we'll be reunited again. But for now, farewell and best wishes to you all," Eleazar said beside Garrett as Tanya, Carmen, and Kate kissed everyone goodbye.

With them gone, we were all alone and the rest of my family dispersed around the house, doing their own thing. It was pretty late in the night and it was so calming and pleasant to hear nothing but the peaceful snoring of all the children in their sleep.

Edward and I were sitting in the living room, enjoying the cute little snores of Eddie as well. He sighed and placed his arms around me and our son.

There was no denying the contentment in his sigh. I looked to the most marvelous angel beside me and brought out my shield.

(Thank you for giving me such a wonderful family.)

He smiled and his fingers brushed my face.

"None of this would've been possible if it wasn't for you, so _thank you Isabella Swan Cullen_ for keeping this family together and complete."

I smiled back and brushed my lips with his. We stayed like this until morning. I wanted nothing but to do this for the rest of my existence: to have the most unconditional love for my husband and children, along with the rest of my family.

* * *

**Like it? Yes? No? COMMENT! :)**

**OH and I have to admit, I'm kinda having writer's block now so I would love it if you guys would give me some suggestions... **


	28. Chapter 28

Sorry I've been so M.I.A lately guys. It's kinda the end of the school year and things should be dying down but they're really not cos of testing and finals and stuff. I've been working on a movie project for my English class and so for those of you who would like to check it out, go to my facebook page.

but yeah that was just one of the many things that kept me from writing. So read on for the latest chapter...

* * *

**CH28: ROUTINE**

**Edward's POV**

A whole month passed by in mere days it seemed. Perhaps it only felt that way because Eddie grew quite rapidly, both physically and mentally. He started speaking about a week after his birth.  
"Daddy, where's Ivee? Me wanna play with her," was what he asked in a perfect toddler tone.  
The initial shock of his advanced growing wasn't quite a shock to Bella and me anymore. We kind of expected as much. Considering the fact that Ivee was closer to his mentality for now, they almost always spent their day together.  
Renesmee, Emmie and Rommel, on the other hand, were officially back in school.  
Nessie was now an eager sophomore. The only thing she was really looking forward to was spending time with Mia. As for the twins, their growing seemed to be slowing so we all decided it was safe for them to enter as freshmen.  
Mornings were a lot more chaotic now with 3 out of the 5 children attending school. Esme was obviously overjoyed with the catering of her grandchildren. They don't really eat any other human food unless their Gramma cooked it.  
"I wish Gramma would be one of the cooks at school. Cafeteria food is just horrid compared to her cooking!" I heard Emmie complain as Bella and I entered the kitchen with Eddie holding on to our pinkies. He looked to be a small 3 year old.  
"Sweetie," Rosalie replied at the same time she was brushing her daughter's long golden hair. "Your grandmother is too glamorous to be working in a high school and in the cafeteria at that."  
"True, but we still gotta put on a show for the humans, little sis. Right, mom?" Rommel asked, taking the last bite of his pancake. Despite his jaunty demeanor, my nephew took our secret seriously.  
Rose and Esme nodded in agreement.  
"If you don't like the lunch on a certain day then just buy some fruit or chips. Rom's right, Emmie. We wouldn't want to cause a commotion," Nessie answered as well.  
Her cousin let go of the subject at hand once she laid eyes on Eddie.  
"Hey there, you little cutie patootie! What're you doing up so early, huh?"  
"I wanna say bye-bye to alla you!" he answered brightly, raising his tiny arms over his head, motioning for her to pick him up.  
"Uh, I don't think so M&M. I'm gonna say bye-bye first," Rommel said as he used his power to bring Eddie over to his side of the island counter.  
"Rom! No fair! You know my power isn't as forceful as yours!" she pouted.  
I chuckled in response. She just resembled her mother so much when she acted like this.  
"Don't let your brother intimidate you, sweetheart. With just a little more practice, who knows? You can probably freeze his power altogether," I told her.  
She smiled and wrapped her arms around my torso.  
"Thanks, Uncle Edward."  
"Besides, you know what they all say... "_First is the worst, second is the best and third is the one with the hairy, hairy chest!"_ she announced as she finally got a hold of Eddie.  
Eddie laughed and said, "Nessie, hairy chest!"  
We all spluttered into merriment.  
Nessie, however, clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes.  
"I don't have a hairy chest!" she exclaimed.  
"Yeah, but you're dating a guy with one!" Rommel replied in between his hysterical laughter. That remark caused an even louder uproar in the house.  
"What's so funny?" Ivee asked groggily, with one hand still rubbing her eyes.  
"Ivee!" Eddie bellowed and jumped off the counter. Fortunately, he seemed to not inherit Bella's clumsiness.  
His tiny legs ran full speed towards his sleepy cousin and crushed against her in impact. Since he was still considerably small, there was hardly any damage on Ivee.  
"Good morning to you, too, kiddo," she greeted him and ruffled his hair.  
"Alrighty then. I got the jeep up and running. Let's get you little munchkins to another wonderful day of high school," Emmett declared as he came through the back kitchen door.  
Hugs, kisses, goodbyes and sayings of good luck were said all at once and within 5 minutes, the only sounds in the house were the footsteps of Ivee and Eddie running around, chasing each other. This was practically an everyday thing, but it was one of the most pleasant cheers of our days lately.

**Just a cute little scene...I kinda have some drama planned for one of the twins in the following chapters... so be on the lookout for that!  
OH! and feel free to check out my newest story I'm working on, called 13.  
go here: .com  
I don't know how often I can update that one once since my main focus is on Flaming Moon right now...**


	29. Chapter 29

**Emmie's POV**

Chapter 29: Trouble

Once daddy drove us to school and kissed us goodbye, Nessie left my brother and I to find Mia. Deep down I wished she'd be at my side for all my classes but I knew that she was a year ahead of us. Besides, I had all the time to spend with her at home. I completely understood that she had been separated from Mia for quite a while and that she wanted to make up for that lost time.

"What's up with the face?" Rommel asked with one of his eyebrows shooting up.

We had reached the main entrance by now and like the gentleman he was, despite his churlish ways at home, he opened the door for me.  
The second we stepped into the halls, the loud, mindless chatter switched to inquisitive whispers. And being the absolutely beautiful half-immortals we were, we heard each every word said.

"I hate having to compete with not one, but TWO Cullen girls..."

"Rommel smiled at me the other day and I swear my heart was going to jump out of my chest!"

"I don't care if Emmie's a freshman. I'd tap _that_ any day..."

The last comment was very flattering but disgusting at the same time. Those guys were lucky that my power was strong enough for me to keep my brother still.

I pulled him towards the south hallway where it was usually deserted.

"Rom, would you calm down please?" I asked him, getting peeved.

"How can I calm down when jerks like that are talking about you like that?" He replied matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. It was enough having my dad, 2 uncles and a grandfather being over protective of me. But I'd have to admit that even when it gets annoying, I'm grateful for Rommel.  
I sighed and answered him.

"These guys are all talk. They never actually do anything but that. And come on, Rom. Don't tell me you don't enjoy everyone admiring us the way they do. Cos for me, I love it."

He returned the rolling of the eyes and said, "Well, duh. You were raised by Rosalie Hale. If anything, you crave attention more than mom does."

"Ha-Ha," I answered him as sarcastically as I could because he was telling the truth, I did love attention. I'm beautiful so I choose to embrace it. I honestly didn't get why everyone else in my family abhors the adoration humans have towards for our kind.

Just then the bell rang and my brother and I continued making our way to our home room. We were originally supposed to have different classes but Seth and my parents were clearly against it. They trusted us being independent and to confront high school life as individuals but having the father that we had, he definitely had no confidence in regular high school boys.

So as a result, we had all but one class together. 5th period was my orchestra class while he had band.  
After another 5 minute walk to Health, hearing more of the inconspicuous prattle, we were finally upstairs and the day officially began.

It was lunch time now and I was in the food line. I had my eye on the last three red velvet cupcakes. I was second to next to the cash register when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around swiftly, thinking that it was Nessie wanting to cut in front of me.

"Hi, Emmie," Nina said shyly to me. It seemed she was almost hiding behind her usual stack of library books she carried around all the time.

"Hey there, Nina," I replied kindly.  
I didn't really know her all that much and in a way, I kind of felt sorry for her. She had so much potential to be really pretty behind her accustomed ponytail braid and braces. The most surprising is how sweet and friendly she is. Her physical appearance would make you think that she was just the typical brace-faced nerd. Little did anyone really know was that she had a really stunning voice. And if that wasn't enough, she also had amiable heart.

Poppa told me how impressed he was with her. He began to notice that she would visit the hospital ever so often to read for the ill children and on other days she would comfort and talk with the elderly. It was a shame to see everyone treat her so insensitively.

"I know I'm probably bothering you right now but—"

"Oh, don't be silly! You're not bothering me. In fact, would you like to join me and my brother and sister?" I asked. It was easy for me to keep up this charade during school. I already see Nessie as my sister.

"Oh no, no, I couldn't. I wouldn't want to intrude. I just wanted to ask you a little favor."

As I paid for my cupcakes, I was starting to get really suspicious with what she wanted me to do.

"Umm, sure I guess. What can I do for ya?"

"Well I was wondering if you can give this to your mother and father," she answered, handing me an intricately patterned basket filled with several fruits, it seemed, that I've never seen before.  
I looked at her completely puzzled and she continued speaking.

"It's kinda my way of saying thank you to your parents. My family and I were going through a tough time paying the hospital bills for my sister and plus with the emotional toll of her miscarriage..." she started tearing up and I didn't know what to do. I wasn't good at comforting humans. Thankfully, she composed herself and looked me straight in the eye.

"It's truly amazing to find that the people who don't have a beating heart are the ones willing to help the downtrodden."

I stared at her pale blue eyes in utter shock. Did I hear her correctly?

"Please extend my thanks yous to the rest of your family as well."  
And just like that, she made her way out of the cafeteria. I stood at the same spot for another minute or so to process what just happened right now.

I didn't get that much time because before I knew it, someone else was trying to get my attention. And this time, it was Nessie.

Her expression frightened me even more than my conversation with Nina.

"Emmie, your brother..." was all she had to say to break my trance. I hated being surrounded by all these humans. I couldn't get to my twin fast enough to see what was going on...


	30. Chapter 30

**Emmie's POV**

Chapter 30: Singer

Nina was the least of my worries for now. I still had tons of questions running through my mind but I knew that my brother was my main concern right now.

At first I couldn't really comprehend what was happening. From the looks of things, everything was fine. No one was on the cafeteria floor with blood oozing out anywhere. But something _was _completely wrong.

Nessie, Mia, Rommel and I usually sat at the very end of the cafeteria. It was as if everyone knew that this was our favored seating and they dared not to even leave any trash behind. This table was also to our liking due to the fact it was one of the few that had a window view of the forest. And Rommel was still there, sitting. But he was was staring off into space so intensely that for the first time, I was actually terrified of him. His eyes were dilated and the pale gray color we shared looked harder, harsher. As I got closer to him, his lip twitch slightly and pursed. His fingers were tightly gripping the bench and I was worried that if he went any tighter, it would surely snap.

"Rommel," I said carefully, reaching out to rest my hand on his shoulder. And then he hissed at me. I flinched and automatically backed away.

I don't know what had gotten into my brother. He was never this mad before. Nessie rubbed my arm to comfort me. She knew that he was acting out of character, too. It was like he was possessed or hypnotized.  
I sat, slumped actually, behind him on the opposite bench and that was when I saw what was in his line of sight.

Nova Nolen.

My brother was staring at Nova. But why was he looking at her as if he wanted to kill her?

"Rommel, look at me," Nessie ordered him in that older-sisterly tone. She kept her hand on him always, trying to get through him with her power I suppose.

All he did was clench and unclench his jaw. This seemed to go on forever when in reality it was about 10 minutes. I looked around to see if anyone noticed how strangely we were acting but everyone continued on laughing, eating and talking. I didn't realize that Rommel was hungry, too.  
He stood up in a flash and started making his way to her.

"Rommel!" Nessie and I whispered fiercely. I was panicking. My brother wasn't himself and he was going to kill Nova right in front of everyone.

"Emmie, use your power!" Nessie said desperately.

I looked at her, my vision blurred from the tears already falling from fear.

"But-but my power isn't as strong as his," I answered feebly.

"Just try!" she demanded.

I turned away from her and locked my eyes on my brother's back and concentrated.  
I started talking to myself, as if I was actually talking to Rommel.

_Rommel, get your ass back over here. What the hell are you thinking? I thought you said we needed to keep a low profile! Just think of mom and dad and what they would say if you killed Nova right now. If you kill her, we would have to move away from Forks. Do you really want that?_

Surprisingly, my power wasn't ebbing. It was actually working. He was halfway to his destination, where Nova was happily surrounded by her group of friends. Luckily, her attention wasn't on my brother and how he was angrily making his way over to her. In fact, no one seemed to mind that my brother was stuck in his stance and it was all because of me.

After about a minute, we were literally saved by the bell. Little by little, kids began to disperse to the hallways. I waited until Nova was completely out of sight and out of scent. Then and only then was I ready to release my brother.

I was relived to find my dad and my uncles burst through the door. They were beside him in a blink of an eye and once I let go of my power, they restrained him.

My brother was strong but my dad was stronger.

"Son, look at me. You have to control yourself," daddy said.

I was hugging Renesmee for support while Uncle Jasper calmed Rommel. Thankfully, it worked right quickly.

It was about a minute until my brother's tense stance was softened and back to normal.

"So nothing happened to Nova, right? And the kids didn't notice anything unusual?" Uncle Edward asked as I broke away from Nessie to go hug my brother. She didn't answer out loud so I could only guess they were having a silent conversation.

Rommel looked really worn out when I reached him and daddy.

"Daddy?" I asked concern furrowing my brow. "Is Rommy gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, he just went through a little phase, if that makes sense. It's kinda a little more than that but we can talk about it when we get home. Do you have all your things?" he asked.

I nodded and continued with my questions.

"How did you know there was a complication? Did Ness call?"

"Actually, your Aunt Alice saw this coming. She's been knowing that this was going to happen soon. We were lucky that your brother had the strength to contain himself," Uncle Jasper answered stately.

We all started leaving the cafeteria and making our way to the jeep. We all didn't fit inside so Uncle Edward and Uncle Jasper offered to run home. Even with the seriousness happening a few minutes ago, my dad and uncles were still in the mood to tease and challenge each other. And so daddy drove faster than usual to get home before Uncle Edward or Uncle Jasper.

Within those 5 minutes of the ride home, Rommel managed to drift to sleep. Whatever he went through really tire him out.

When we were in the garage, I was quite surprised to find that my dad had won the challenge of speed. Uncle Edward was usually quite fast.

"Yeah, well there were some hikers on the way here and we had to be careful," Uncle Edward said right behind me. I giggled at their playful bantering and little fights.

My mom and Aunt Bella joined us soon after.

"Where's my baby boy? What happened to him?" my mom asked an octave higher than her usual chime.

"Hi to you, too, mama," I greeted her with a salute.

Aunt Bella and Nessie laughed in their embrace and my mom shook her head in amusement.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. You know I love and worry about you," she said, bringing me into her, engulfing me with her hazelnut fragrance. To my brother, she smelled like vanilla but to me it was more earthy.

"Mom," Rommel groaned, interrupting my thoughts of the different scents of my family. "I'm fine, okay? I'm just a little tired. I'm going to head upstairs and sleep. I don't want to talk about what happened right now."

"Hold on," she said sternly and he obeyed, looking a little drunk.

"You haven't given me my kiss yet. You always kiss me when you get home from school."

He smiled in amusement and kissed both of her cheeks and forehead. He was tall enough to do that now. Before he left, though, he gave me the look that told me to follow him.

"Umm, mom, I think I'm gonna rest a little bit, too. I used my power on Rom earlier and it took a lot of my energy."

"Oh, honey, you must be hungry. At least eat something first."

"No, it's fine. Really. I'll just come down for dinner later. Or we can hunt," I said, noticing the darkness in her eyes.

She nodded and gave a small smile.

When I was upstairs, I found my twin waiting for me right in front of my bedroom door.

"Sup," I greeted him with a nod.

"Where do ya wanna talk? My room, your room?"

"My room! I think my bed is plusher than yours and you did say you're sleepy right?"

He smirked and gestured for me to do the honors.

"After you, little sis," he replied doing a little bow.

"Why thank you, big bro," I answered back.

Knowing my twin, I knew that he had already taken off his favorite gray and black Vans Half Cab Pros. By the time I blinked again, he was already plopped, on his tummy, in the center of my queen sized bed. Before I joined him, I went over to my iPod and speakers and played my winding down playlist. The soothing acoustics of Mumford and Sons' "The Cave" filled the room. I knew it didn't do anything trying to mask the conversation my brother and I were going to have since we lived in a house filled with vampires but it was worth the shot. They were going to hear what happened today sooner or later.

I climbed onto my bed and settled myself in a criss-cross applesauce seating position.

"Okay...so spill."

To be perfectly honest, I wanted to tell him about Nina before anything else but I knew he truly was tired and my story could wait til later, when everyone was together.

He heaved a long, fatigued sigh into my lilac pillow before answering me. He then propped himself up with his elbow.

"Well when you went off to buy your food, Ness and I were just talking about the winter concert coming up.

She was offered to play the piano parts since Drake is out for the week on vacation or something like that. And then the doors at the opposite end opened and in _she_ came," he pause to gulp. I didn't realize that him talking about it would be hard for him. But he continued anyway.

"It didn't really help that there was a draft in there cos not only did she _look_ physically appealing...her scent-" he paused again, with his eyes closed and his jaw fixed in chagrin.

"Her scent was the most intoxicating drug. It was so potent and alluring. She was far away but I swear I could hear her heart beating from where I was. Just hers. And it was like the rest of my senses amplified. The very first thing I noticed was her neck, almost like my mind was working on its on. My eyes practically zeroed in on her throat. The muscles contracting from her speaking and laughing...the fragrance of her bouncy, light chestnut brown hair...and the blood flowing from her jugular veins was. so. enticing."

I had to gulp myself after hearing all of this. Even now, the hunger in his eyes were eminent.

"It really did take all of my might and control to not stride over there and tell her to come with me to the woods or something. Knowing how much everyone admired us, it would be so easy to lull her to me. But I didn't. Even with _every_ fiber of my being hungry and yearning for her, I just didn't. And I guess I have you to thank for that," he said nudging my knee.

We were quiet for a moment, now listening to Droplets by Colbie Caillat.

"Wow," was all I could execute from my lips. He switched from being on his stomach to his back. He then had his arms behind his head and stared thoughtfully at my ceiling.

"I don't think I could ever be as strong as you," I breathed.

"But you are. Seriously, if it wasn't for you, Nova would be dead right now."

I smiled and kissed his cheek as I laid beside him.

"Well, you can always count on me to save your ass."

He chuckled and that was all I felt under me. We drifted to sleep after that because the next thing I knew, we were being awakened by Ivee and Eddie to come down for dinner. Maybe now was the time to tell my day at school.


	31. Chapter 31

**Renesmee's POV**

Chapter 31: Matrimony

It was October now and wedding bells were in the air. Thankfully the twins and I were in school most days that we didn't get in the way of our aunts' planning. I was excited for my Grandpa Charlie and Sue. They were really good together.

I was kinda worried that my real grandmother, Renee, was invited. As far as I was aware, my parents weren't ready to introduce her to the vampire and wolf world. When we called her up, though, she had claimed that there was a prior engagement that was mandatory for her to attend. But if you asked me, she probably found it really awkward to be a guest at her ex-husband's wedding.

"Ness! Are you listening to me?" Aunt Alice called, perturbing my thoughts.

"Of course," I answered quickly.

"Then what was the last thing I said?"

"Ness! Are you listening to me?" I replied, failing at imitating her twinkle-of-a-voice.

I bit my bottom lip to keep me from laughing hysterically at Aunt Alice's expression. It was like she turned into popeye right here, before my eyes.

"Whoa, whoa, why is Alice having deadly thoughts about you?" Daddy asked joining us in the dining room.

Her anger sizzled to complaint.

"Because your daughter won't listen to me!" she pouted. With that, daddy and I giggled.

She sighed in frustration and slumped in the seat diagonal from me.

"Aww, come on Aunt Alice. Live a little. You know that Grandpa's wedding is going to a success, especially with you planning it."

"Are you kidding me?" she asked, "Of course I know tomorrow will be perfect. There's just a couple little details that need tending to but I can't do everything myself, you know. Which is why I asked for you to miss school today, missy."

I looked to my dad before answering her.

"Okay, I'm sorry for messing around earlier. I promise to be more attentive from this moment forth," I said with a smile and that did it.

"Good!" she nodded and got up.

"Now your first task for today is to go out and get the orders from Seattle and—"

"She's going to Seattle, Alice? Are you crazy?" Daddy interrupted.

"Yes, she is and no, I'm not crazy. You know I wouldn't let her go out alone. Which is why Jacob will be here shortly."

"Like that makes it any better," daddy mumbled.

"And speaking of duties," Aunt Alice continued and crossed her arms, "aren't _you_ supposed to be out getting something as well? Like, I don't know, maybe the 2 dozen sand lamps I ordered last week and were supposed to be here last night?"

Daddy's face changed to a sly smirk. "There was a slight delay due to some...beautiful distraction," he said as my mom came in carrying Eddie.

"Good morning," momma said putting my little brother down. In a flash and a blur, he was by my side with arms outreached for me to pick him up. He enjoyed sitting on my lap.

"It will be a good morning once I see that everyone is performing their tasks!" Aunt Alice practically shrieked.

"Alice, will you calm down? Everything will come together in perfect harmony tomorrow, okay? I'm sorry for the lag but Carlisle wanted to measure Eddie this morning. You'll be glad to know that Em and Rose are out right now getting the chairs that you specifically wanted for the beach reception. Now can Edward and I say goodbye to our children before we leave to get the other things on your list?" My mom asked.

Aunt Alice heaved a long sigh but allowed my parents to kiss us goodbye.

"Eddie, you're going to stay home and play with Ivee, okay, sweetie? Listen to gramma, you hear me?"

Momma asked lifting his little chin with her index finger.

"Yes, momma," Eddie answered lovingly as my mom kissed my forehead.

"Ness, be careful out there in Seattle. I don't care if Jacob is with you. Don't let your guard down. We don't know who may be lurking in the outskirts and ever since we've been having Ivee and Eddie, it's all the more reason for the Volturi to come out with spies. Always have your cellphone with you."  
I nodded and kissed my dad goodbye with Eddie doing the same.

It wasn't long for Jacob to come along and save me from my aunt's wrath of duties.

"Hello, Cullen House!" was the very first thing he said coming through the back door.

"Jake, we're in here," my aunt called and with a couple long strides, he was standing before me. It took all of my might to stay in my seat and not jump up and kiss him like crazy. Having Eddie still on my lap helped a little, too.

"Okay, I've already told Nessie what you two need to get done today so she'll be the one to fill you in. I have to go now and help Jazz with the rest of the decorations up stairs. I expect for everything to be done by 5:30pm, got it?" she asked eyeing the both of us scrutinizingly.

"Yes, ma'am," Jacob answered for the both of us, with a little salute.

Once she was upstairs and out of sight, I put my little brother down.

"Okay, Eddie, you heard mom and dad," I said kneeling down to his eye level. He grew quite significantly over such a short time. "Go on and play with Ivee but don't give Gramma a hard time. I'll see you later. I love you, Eddie."

"Mmmkay, Nessie. I love you, too," he answered with a kiss on my nose before he left the room bidding a goodbye to Jake as well.

We were alone at last and Jacob didn't waste any time greeting me. His arms were around my waist in an instant, with his slow and controlled breaths on my neck.

"Why, hello to you, too, Jacob Black," I said, turning in his grasp to wrap my arms around his neck.  
He reached down to give me a kiss. "I missed you so much, Ness," he said against my lips.

"I missed you, too, Jakey. I guess it's a good thing Aunt Alice gave me a duty cos now I get to spend time with you!" I replied as we made our way to his Mercedes.

**THE WEDDING  
**I woke up bright and early with Ivee and Eddie tugging at my sheets. I don't know if it's the fact that boys tend to grow faster than girls or the fact that Eddie is different than the rest of us but it was literally about 2 weeks ago when he was barely at eye level with the surface of my bed. And now I find him helping Ivee up to bounce up and down my mattress as my wake up call.

"Ness!"  
"Nessieeeeee!"  
"Wake up, wake up, WAKE UP!"

Was all that I heard while I was dreaming of Jake kissing me.

Even with them disturbing a perfectly good dream, I woke up with a smile on my face seeing my adorable siblings. It felt like a crime being angry at them. When I finally sat up, I took advantage of them not jumping anymore and grabbed the both of them to engulf them with my kisses. Our giggles filled the whole house and it wasn't a surprise to find Gramma watching us from the doorway with a venerating look in here eyes.

"I thank God everyday for blessing Carlisle and I with such wonderful grand babies," she said, placing a hand over her heart.

"We're included in that statement, right?" Emmie asked in a little voice with Rommel levitating her with his power.

"Of course, sweetheart," our grandmother answered without any hesitation and complete affection.

"I love each and _every_ one of you. Now come on down and eat some breakfast. We've got a full schedule today."

"Yay, foooooooooood!" Ivee exclaimed. She loved eating human food more than the rest of us.

As I got up, still in my pajamas, Eddie took a hold of my hand and communicated with me, as we usually did whenever we can. It was fun having someone have the same power as I do and a little more.

It didn't take long for us to discover that my little brother was more talented than me thought. Not only could he project his thoughts through physical contact like me, but he could also read minds like daddy.

(I'm glad we woke you up already. I don't know how long I could've last watching your dream of Jacob.)

I shook my head in amusement. It was typical for a little boy his age, physically anyway, to be repulsed at kissing.

The morning past by quite rapidly. Once we ate, we were allowed to have some free time and play. The  
feeling of the atmosphere was very light and happy. We barely spent time together, all five of us. It was kind of tricky to find something to do without the little ones getting tired or dirty too quickly. So thanks to our highly advanced and updated cinema room, we went off to watch some movies to past the time. Ivee and Eddie would be the last ones to get dressed as a precaution. They tended to be really rough and run around practically everywhere. My mom and Aunt Alice would constantly change their clothes throughout the day because they would always make such a mess in whatever activity they had going on.

With Tangled and Toy Story 3 done, Emmie and I went off to get dolled up. Rommel followed soon after.  
When Ivee and Eddie were in their little dress and suit, we all left the house to head to the beach. Poppa had an online credential that allowed him to be the one to marry Grandpa Charlie and Sue.

As expected, the wedding was phenomenal. The vows and the kiss were perfectly timed with the beautiful, enchanting sunset. Sue looked absolutely gorgeous and elegant with her mermaid champaign wedding dress. Everyone was barefoot, the girls wearing barefoot pearl sandals. Eddie was the ring bearer and Ivee the flower girl. Being Aunt Alice's daughter, it was only customary for her to dance and toss the petals down the sandy aisle. Emily, my mom, my aunt, and Emmie and I were bridesmaids with Leah being the maid of honor. I personally liked the color scheme of the wedding. Our bright guava tinted dresses accented the medium beige seating and reception decorations. It was, indeed, very intimate with just the pack and our family.

The flowers were expertly arranged all around the sand in the ceremony and the reception. The air was cold but it was nice and cozy with all the sand lamps surrounding the vicinity. The food was delicious as well with the catering being done by Gramma herself. The most fun, in my opinion, was the dancing. The first dance was very romantic with their song, "You and I" by Michael Buble. After that, _everyone_ joined in. We danced all night it seemed. Seeing my grandpa "get jiggy with it" was purely hilarious. Even my parents participated on the dance floor, which they rarely did unless it was a slow dance.

It was around midnight when the newlyweds left for their honeymoon in the Belize, a wedding gift from my mom. We waved and showered them with rice as they got into their car to go to the airport. With that, we continued dancing the night away. It didn't take long for sleep to creep into my thoughts, however, and for my legs to slowly give in to exhaustion. All in all, tonight was a night of the beauty of love and celebration.

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**Firstly, sorry for the wait. My only reason for the long delay of chapters is my laziness. Once school was out for the summer, the only thing I wanted to do was pure nothingness. And even by now I don't know if I'm cured...and so I won't blame you guys if you stop reading my story. But for those of you who are still interested, then I will definitely do my best to continue. And secondly, this chapter had to be cut down and so if you want to read on how Jake and Nessie spent their day together, go on to my blog [.com] and click on the 'EXTRAS' tab and scroll all the way down.  
**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hi! Long time no read, huh? Well I'm happy to say that I'M BACK! Kinda... LOL. I'm still dealing with a couple of things but I just couldn't go on without writing again. Now it's been a while since I've written and I admit, I kinda forgot some of my plot. So as of right now, I still have a major case of writer's block so please bear with me. I don't know how many of you still check this story but still, I want to continue writing Flaming Moon as well as my other story. I know how I want to end this story, but the filler chapters are what I'm struggling with. Eventually I'll get into the hang of things again so yeah. I'll try and update once a week, most likely on the weekends, and I'll possibly add in some additional chapters in the EXTRAS tab to make up for some time I've lost. So yeah, I guess I'll stop the author note here so that you can get to reading the newest chapter!**

**Emmie's POV**

Chapter 32: Clarification

My brother was still quite exhausted from the Nova incident at school that he continued snoring after I playfully rushed the little ones out of my room. Luckily, he was a deep sleeper because even with it being late into the night Eddie and Ivee were still fairly energized and their giggles seemed to travel all over the house.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I found my parents cuddling on the couch, my dad completely distracted from the game on the big flat screen which was definitely a rare thing to find. I smiled at how lovingly they stared at one another. Even with Rommel and I being physically 13, I still enjoyed acting like I was my real age and so I swiftly made my way to them and wedged myself right in the middle. Despite my dad's brawny appearance, his scent was really sweet, almost like a masculine lavendar. We sat in silence for a while with my mom slowly stroking my sandy blonde hair. It felt nice. The last time I recalled ever doing this was when my brother and I were much younger. It was now that I realized we really were growing up at a fast pace. I suddenly felt a pang of anxiousness as if something bad was going to happen really soon. Whether is was Rommel's issue with Nova, my suspicions with Nina or perhaps something bigger, I just felt utterly scared for a moment. As an impulse, I grabbed onto my father tighter.

"Emmie, baby, what's wrong?" he asked.

Hearing the bass of his voice comforted me instantly and I let my worries wander elsewhere in my mind and answered, "Nothing daddy. It's just that I miss being cradled by you and mama. That's all."

He smiled and my mom replied. "Sweetie, we can do this every night if you wanted. We miss cradling you just as much and your brother isn't excluded in that."

I nodded and moved so that I was standing in front of them now. I yawned and stretched to realize that I was actually quite hungry. I knew my grandmother wouldn't mind fixing me some late night dinner but I was in the mood for some blood, especially after hearing Rommel's view of Nova.

"Momma, can we go hunting right now? Just you and me?" I asked pouncing onto the space near her on our white leather couch. I took note from earlier that her eyes were near to becoming black as coal.

She nodded, kissed my dad goodbye, me doing the same, and out the door we went into the darkness of the trees.

Within an hour, we managed to catch a total of four deer, a young mountain lion that I caught by myslef and a bear my mom found near the edge of a cliff close to the beach. Once we were done drinking, we strolled half human speed around the woods. I specifically asked for just her and I to go out and hunt because I wanted to tell her about Nina and what happened at school earlier.

"Although, it is very weird for Nina to hint or even know who we are," she stated, "I wouldn't worry so much about it sweetheart. Especially if she mentioned your Poppa. Carlisle wouldn't release our identity to just any human so in my opinion, we're perfectly safe."

I nodded in agreement. My grandfather after all naturally felt sympathy for humans like Nina.

During our walk, we even tackled the issue with my twin about Nova. She explained that daddy went through something quite similar to what Rommel witnessed. She called it having a singer, a specific human's blood that was so completely alluring and in this case, Nova would always be in danger by just being in the same room with him.

"So wait," I said, still wanting to hear about my father's experience with his singer. "How did he manage to not kill her and drink her dry?"

She smirked at the memories and answered, "well I was quite the distraction for your father, if you know what I mean."

Unfortunately I did and so I changed the subject.

"Well I sure hope Rommy can get through this without killing Nova because I would hate to move away from Forks and Seth."

My mother frowned slightly at the mention of Seth but she quickly composed herself.

"Well if your dad and your Uncle Edward can endure the temptation, I'm sure your brother can be equally strong and if he fails, I'm at ease knowing that you'll be there to help him."

I was shocked upon hearing that my uncle once had a singer as well.

"How did Uncle Edward handle his singer?" I asked, completely curious with tonight's family stories.

"Well," my mom started, "let's just say that your uncle tried to resist but he couldn't find the strength within himself to stop and so he followed his singer practically everywhere she went. He planned to lure her away somewhere so that his miseries would be put at a halt but instead he fell deeply in love with her and now he has a beautiful wife and family."

We were meters away from the house now but I stopped in my tracks. I just couldn't fathom the fact that my aunt and uncle were brought together like that. It kind of got me imagining that the same could possibly happen to Nova and my brother. He practically was the only one without a significant other in the family. Eddie and Ivee were still too young to know what kind of love that was even with their accelerating understanding and knowledge.

We arrived home to find my daddy waiting for us. While he and my mom reunited, I went off inside to find my Uncle Edward to hear more stories about the rest of the members of our huge family.

* * *

**So there you go, finally a new chapter. Not that much going on, I know. I just wanted to let you guys know that I haven't completely abandoned this story. So please please please comment giving me feedback. Tell me what you like, didn't like, how much you hate me for making you guys wait so long, but most of all, give me suggestions as to what you guys want to see happening. So until the next chapter, which would most likely be this weekend, HELP ME OUT BUT CONTACTING ME! :D**


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